Just got two WD3200AAKS-00B3A0 drives.

About to fire them up.

They are noticeably lighter in weight due to the single platter.

-Ed

Anyone have experience underclocking a 8800GT with Coolbits? Does it work as well as ATiTool. I've had great success with my X800 XT PE and ATiTool.

-Ed

Who here has the FSP Zen400 or 300? Does anyone have one that whines?

I'm thinking of replacing my Antec Phantom 350 with it eventually.

-Ed

Well, if I were to go off of relative ratings, perhaps I should consider ATi.

-Ed

First review of 9600GT, here's the power part http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/1293/19 I don't remember how much 8600GT/GTS series consume, but it consumes less than 8800GT, especially in idle. Thanks for the link. Idle power usage is less with the 9600GT than the 8600GT. Yet, they measure the 8800...

The copper cage is DIY....and difficult. It's all soldered together. I had to rivet it together first, because the heat from the small torch was trying to warp the panels......plus as I soldered one joint, the solder on the previous joint would melt. It was a lot of fun..... That case is probably s...

Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm OK. My current Althon 64 set up barely tops 100 watts.

I saw this info about the D9M family. "Other details of the D9M family have already surfaced. ChileHardware published slides yesterday claiming the GeForce 9600 requires a 400W power supply that requires 26A on the 12V rail. Unlike previous mid-range GeForce cards, the D9M will require a 6-pin suppl...

I was wondering if the 9600GT would be worth the wait or is it going to be much more power hungry than the 8600GTS. I am building this system soon, but it will have to be powered by a single Antec Phantom 350. CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz Mobo: ABIT IP35 Pro RAM: 8GB (4 sticks in all)...

KenAF wrote:I received several of these drives today. I got them from this ebay seller.

When you submit payment with Paypal, specify in the note that you want the new WD3200AAKS-00B3A0 version.

I ordered two of them, they're on their way.

-Ed

What do you mean when you say 'ducted airflow'? If by that you mean pseudo-passive (no fan actually on the heatsink), I think the Minja would be a better bet. It would allow airflow along the same path as the airflow is already in your system (horizontally) as opposed to the XP-120 which likes top-...

Should I use a Scythe Mini Ninja or use my old Thermalright XP-120? Which one would cool better with only ducted airflow? This is the system it's going into: E8400 Wolfsdale + Abit IP35-E Here's a pic of the ducting system in the old setup (A64 3500+). http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/imagemonk...

I just had the same thing happen to my computer as well. I'm going to have to try attaching a grounding wire as well.

-Ed

Love the cookie jar duct. Minimal work and looks great too. I'm going to have to redo my ducting work soon. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/imagemonkey/Computers/Edwood_HTPC_mk2_14VM101.jpg I don't think I'll be able to cool everything with a single 120mm fan like I hoped. Perhaps a few very s...

Oh well, I placed an order for two 320GB WD3200AAKS B3 rev.

I guess I'll find out for myself.

-Ed

Anyone tried the Mini Ninja on an Abit IP35-E mobo?

Was wondering if it would fit.

-Ed

Knock on wood, my Antec Phantom 350 is still alive and kicking. It powers an Athlon 64 3500+ (2.2GHz), 4GB RAM, ATi X800 Pro, one 7200rpm HDD, one notebook slim DVD-rom drive, and two 120mm Fans. It will soon power an Intel E8400, 8GB RAM, Nvidia 8600GT, two 7200rpm HDD, on notebook slim DVD-rom dri...

My old Antec Phantom 350 is completely silent and still kicking. Knock on wood. :p

I'll be at a loss as to what to replace it with when it dies. I'm about to upgrade to Core 2 Duo E8400 + GeForce 8600GT + 2x 7200rpm HDD's.

Keeping my fingers crossed that it survives the upgrade.

-Ed

The 640GB WD6400AAKS and [updated] 320GB WD3200AAKS are based on Western Digital's new, higher density 320GB platter. The older 500Gb and 750Gb versions are based on <200GB platters. The new 320GB product code is WD3200AAKS-00B3A0. The B3 tells you that it is the new version. Manufacturing on this ...

The Smart Drive Cooper is so expensive, I would actually contemplate an SSD solution. OK, not really, but $175 for a HDD enclosure that doesn't cool better than the Smart Drive 2002c? Uh, OK. Has anyone tried the SilentMaxx Enclosure with a Raptor? http://www.quietpcusa.com/Silentmaxx-Aluminum-Hard-...

fri2219 wrote:Have you looked at AMD/ATI FireMV based cards?

I'm using one on my (Linux) based WS, replacing my old Matrox- it's been rock solid and sips power when not in use. I initially installed Vista64 on it for laughs, and it ran Aero without any problems.

Ouch, those are way too expensive.

-Ed

I was thinking of perhaps the Nvidia 8500GT, there are quite a few passively cooled models.

-Ed

Exellent graph!

Wow, the 8800 is power hungry!

-Ed

I just want to know which would be a good model. My ancient Matrox P650 doesn't cut the mustard.

-Ed

I'm rebuilding my main workstation to Vista 64. It's only going to be a 2D workstation (Photoshop, Illustrator, and Painter mainly, with maybe some Non-linear Video Editing). So I won't be playing games on it. I'd like to get a video card with the lowest power usage, but still supports full Vista Ae...

Ah, I guess I'll be getting the 750GB version then.

-Ed

My 7200RPM 200GB Hitachi 2.5" drive works with a single USB port most of the time. Some laptops just don't have enough juice and require two USB ports for the power. But most of the time it works on a single USB port.

-Ed

I think for all intents and purposes, the drives are more secure either way. Only care would be in removing the drives when tipping the case (this is a tower case, I'm assuming, right?) on it's side when working on the motherboard. But sounds like you have it snug enough that they'd stay put even wi...

That's weird that the seek noises are rated as louder for the 500GB one.

Maybe the added density of the extra platters deadens the seek noise a bit? Or perhaps its the louder idle noise that is masking the seek noise a bit?

-Ed

Unless prices drop in half, no.

64GB is the minimum size needed for useable space with Vista. 32GB is just too small.

When Mtron releases a 64GB model for around $500 I'll definitely consider it.

Otherwise I don't expect SSD's to be in the mainstream until 2009at the earliest.

-Ed