N-Fenix.
- Thread starter alienware
- Start date
alienware
Banned
Yes !
I'll break down the prices for you too..
The whole point to the project was to demonstrate that modding can be fun and isn't really that hard to do or expensive if you put in the work.
The ATX extension could have been a lot better, but it was my first time (fnarr !). I didn't use the correct tools either..
My sponsor stuff came today too. Sadly the Alchemy cables are the totally wrong green so I will use them in the forthcoming mod (will start that in about a month, I have all of the parts ready and just need paint).
I have modding to do today though, so by the end of today I will hopefully be sans headache (4am bed 8am rise :S) and can get it finished up.
I'll break down the prices for you too..
The whole point to the project was to demonstrate that modding can be fun and isn't really that hard to do or expensive if you put in the work.
The ATX extension could have been a lot better, but it was my first time (fnarr !). I didn't use the correct tools either..
My sponsor stuff came today too. Sadly the Alchemy cables are the totally wrong green so I will use them in the forthcoming mod (will start that in about a month, I have all of the parts ready and just need paint).
I have modding to do today though, so by the end of today I will hopefully be sans headache (4am bed 8am rise :S) and can get it finished up.
alienware
Banned
There's nothing like the smell of spray paint in the morning
The stuff from ST came today !
Sadly the green on the Alchemy cable is totally different to the rest so I'm not going to be able to use it
and thrice
No doubt I will use it for my next mod project
Any way, see that ram cooler? well, I've always believed they don't really do much. BUT when I saw it I knew it had some scope for modding and would look sweet. So, I took it apart...
I'm sure you can see where this is going.....
Boshty. I'll fit it in a bit. Just a bit of boring info now. A friend of mine asked me how I got the shrinks to fit so tight. Now obviously I didn't have time to order the completely perfect sizes so I came up with another method. This also helps them to grip really tight. Basically take a piece of shrink that looks close in size and then slot it onto the end of a pair of long/needle nose pliers like this, and gently stretch it (gently I add or it'll rip)
Then turn it around slotting it on the other way and stretch that side if it's too long to go over the pliers in one go. You won't get long to get it over as it starts to contract back to size pretty quickly. Get it over, heat it up. Done
The stuff from ST came today !
Sadly the green on the Alchemy cable is totally different to the rest so I'm not going to be able to use it
Any way, see that ram cooler? well, I've always believed they don't really do much. BUT when I saw it I knew it had some scope for modding and would look sweet. So, I took it apart...
I'm sure you can see where this is going.....
Boshty. I'll fit it in a bit. Just a bit of boring info now. A friend of mine asked me how I got the shrinks to fit so tight. Now obviously I didn't have time to order the completely perfect sizes so I came up with another method. This also helps them to grip really tight. Basically take a piece of shrink that looks close in size and then slot it onto the end of a pair of long/needle nose pliers like this, and gently stretch it (gently I add or it'll rip)
Then turn it around slotting it on the other way and stretch that side if it's too long to go over the pliers in one go. You won't get long to get it over as it starts to contract back to size pretty quickly. Get it over, heat it up. Done
alienware
Banned
O.K guys and girls it's time to bring this to a conclusion. I don't know whether to be really proud or really sad that it's over lol.
Any way, before I go any further I want to say my thanks.
Massive thanks to Steve at Specialtech for the mini sponsor. It was a huge morale boost to get support from my favourite PC company !
Big shout goes out to Ryan P who sent me the parts from the U.S
And every one else for support !
Let's wrap this up then. So the ram cooler was finished and fitted. I'll leave the fans to harden the paint
And some glory pics. Please note these were done last night without the ram cooler on and by the time it's dark I will be snoring in a dark corner somewhere, I'm absolutely exhausted and have a wicked migraine from lack of sleep
Without sounding like an Ahole it's always bothered me that people fit loads of lighting to their PC so that it looks awesome with the lights out but don't do a good job of neat inside for when it's light.
And finally...
Overclocking testing and benching. First to the overclock. This is an old CPU now but 3ghz was a breeze. Temps are 42 idle and 65 under load. More than acceptable for an old CPU like this.
GPU temps. I have a very aggressive profile, but the card has never reached the 68c mark where the fan would wind up to 100%. It sits around 60% which isn't audible. All I get is a warming hum from the side fan
Onto the Vantage run.
As I suspected the CPU is bottlenecking the 295 quite badly. We ran this card in Vantage with an I7 950 @ 3.8ghz and it scored nearly 23k GPU score. However, even on the core 2 it's *still* knocking out more 3dmarks than my 470 at stock. I haven't loaded on many games yet as I wanted to play through Dirt 3 and play through Duke Forever again (I'm a fan). So let's get Dirt 3 going and bench it. Settings used were -
1920x1080
Everything as high as it will go.
8x FSAA.
Firstly some screenshots, just to show how pointless I am convinced DX11 really is.
And the results.
So once again a heart felt thanks and I'll see you all again soon... Muhahahaha. (back later with final costs and breakdowns !)
Any way, before I go any further I want to say my thanks.
Massive thanks to Steve at Specialtech for the mini sponsor. It was a huge morale boost to get support from my favourite PC company !
Big shout goes out to Ryan P who sent me the parts from the U.S
And every one else for support !
Let's wrap this up then. So the ram cooler was finished and fitted. I'll leave the fans to harden the paint
And some glory pics. Please note these were done last night without the ram cooler on and by the time it's dark I will be snoring in a dark corner somewhere, I'm absolutely exhausted and have a wicked migraine from lack of sleep
Without sounding like an Ahole it's always bothered me that people fit loads of lighting to their PC so that it looks awesome with the lights out but don't do a good job of neat inside for when it's light.
And finally...
Overclocking testing and benching. First to the overclock. This is an old CPU now but 3ghz was a breeze. Temps are 42 idle and 65 under load. More than acceptable for an old CPU like this.
GPU temps. I have a very aggressive profile, but the card has never reached the 68c mark where the fan would wind up to 100%. It sits around 60% which isn't audible. All I get is a warming hum from the side fan
Onto the Vantage run.
As I suspected the CPU is bottlenecking the 295 quite badly. We ran this card in Vantage with an I7 950 @ 3.8ghz and it scored nearly 23k GPU score. However, even on the core 2 it's *still* knocking out more 3dmarks than my 470 at stock. I haven't loaded on many games yet as I wanted to play through Dirt 3 and play through Duke Forever again (I'm a fan). So let's get Dirt 3 going and bench it. Settings used were -
1920x1080
Everything as high as it will go.
8x FSAA.
Firstly some screenshots, just to show how pointless I am convinced DX11 really is.
And the results.
So once again a heart felt thanks and I'll see you all again soon... Muhahahaha. (back later with final costs and breakdowns !)
daantjuh44
New member
Congrats on completing the build !
It's looking great
It's looking great
ruthless_villain
New member
How is your core 2 duo scoring 30k when my i5 2500k scores 24k??
alienware
Banned
CUDA. lol.
GTX 470 + I7 950 @ 4ghz.
Ed. Right as promised the final cost totals.
Bitfenix Survivor – Donated by Bitfenix.
Zalman ram cooler - Donated by Specialtech.
CPU – free (came from cousin’s dead PC)
Noctua NUF-92 – Had since 2008.
EVGA 790i Ultra – Free. Donated by Ryan P.
Cathode – free.
Cooler Master Megaflow - £7 (Specialtech winter sale)
Paint £13.50 (Fatbuddah)
GPU - £96 (Ebay USA)
Hard drive - £18 (Ebay UK)
Memory - £8.50 (AVforums)
Power supply - £50 (AVforums)
Braids - £3 (Specialtech)
Heat shrink - £2 (Ebay UK)
Graphics/Vinyl - £10 (Nigel)
Fans (Xigmatek side and rear) - £10 (Ebay UK)
LEDs - £1 (Ebay UK)
Ram sinks thermal compound and braided PCIE cables (Amazon and Ebay UK) = £11.44
Total - £221.94
GTX 470 + I7 950 @ 4ghz.
Ed. Right as promised the final cost totals.
Bitfenix Survivor – Donated by Bitfenix.
Zalman ram cooler - Donated by Specialtech.
CPU – free (came from cousin’s dead PC)
Noctua NUF-92 – Had since 2008.
EVGA 790i Ultra – Free. Donated by Ryan P.
Cathode – free.
Cooler Master Megaflow - £7 (Specialtech winter sale)
Paint £13.50 (Fatbuddah)
GPU - £96 (Ebay USA)
Hard drive - £18 (Ebay UK)
Memory - £8.50 (AVforums)
Power supply - £50 (AVforums)
Braids - £3 (Specialtech)
Heat shrink - £2 (Ebay UK)
Graphics/Vinyl - £10 (Nigel)
Fans (Xigmatek side and rear) - £10 (Ebay UK)
LEDs - £1 (Ebay UK)
Ram sinks thermal compound and braided PCIE cables (Amazon and Ebay UK) = £11.44
Total - £221.94
alienware
Banned
Excellent mod work matesave for nicer parts nowlol
And why would I do that? Oh dear, it seems you have caught that terrible illness upgraditus
Sadly there is no cure, you'll have to just learn from your mistakes.
Earlier I decided to put my £221.94 where my mouth is and shoot a couple of videos. Bear in mind this is a Core 2 Duo that most here would have tossed to the wayside about two years ago deeming it useless. OC to 3ghz. Then add in some Kingston Valueram (the dreaded NO GOOD 2gb) and a GTX 295 (the star of the show) and you have an extreme end gaming rig. Yep, I just used the word extreme.
Crysis 2. Full on, Hardcore settings @ 720p.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdcHYk9gViU
And if that wasn't enough to convince you then here, take a look at Dirt 3 again, maxed out, max AA (CQSA or something) 720p.
Also take note of the fact that I chose one of the most demanding races graphically, just to show I didn't cherry pick a level that runs fast.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MKV4lLMDRM
Now you tell me, why should I spend a red cent on making it better when it's already doing everything it can, leaving nothing worth upgrading ?
