workstation Show us your Workstations! - 2013 Edition

[Arceles]

While your cpu may be cool, how are your other hardware, HDDs, GFX? That is not well managed.

Not reaching above 49 degress. Plus I have an SDD, under load, my HDD reaches 49 degrees. remember that all the 6 fans are doing their work.

 

Edit: Note that my only HDD is a 2.5" one, I have seen those things reach 56 degress... here it's not the case.

 

Edit 2: My GPU, even overclocked, reaches a maximum of 69 degrees. Hell man, you just can imagine a system this small and be perfectly cooled, have you ever tried to overclock a laptop? I did, a quad core from 1.6 GHz to 3.0 Ghz, that thing could even emulate PS2 games. maximum temps were quite high (89?) yet never failed and I still use it as a my laptop, just not anymore for gaming. A desktop of such dimensions is... I don't know, A giant leap of space and ventilation for me.

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

May be cool enough, but it's far away from neat. Get some cable ties.

[Arceles]

May be cool enough, but it's far away from neat. Get some cable ties.

You just have OCD. (No insult intended, I also have it but for other things...)

 

Here is a flow diagram for you:

 

 

I invite you to replicate the same system with a zalman T2, then if you can do better.... show me :D, I'm happy with my temps.

[tsupersonic]

You just have OCD. (No insult intended, I also have it but for other things...)

 

Here is a flow diagram for you:

 

 

I invite you to replicate the same system with a zalman T2, then if you can do better.... show me :D, I'm happy with my temps.

The problem with that case is poor design. From the pictures I see, there is no area behind the motherboard to hide cables. It looks like a very cramped case in general, and not ideal at all for air flow. 

 

P.S. that flow diagram screams OCD ;) Not saying that's a bad thing. It's good that you put a lot of though into it! 

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

You just have OCD. (No insult intended, I also have it but for other things...)

 

Here is a flow diagram for you:

 

I invite you to replicate the same system with a zalman T2, then if you can do better.... show me :D, I'm happy with my temps.

 

I know the way fans blow. Top and back fans exhaust, front fans blow in.

[Arceles]

The problem with that case is poor design. From the pictures I see, there is no area behind the motherboard to hide cables. It looks like a very cramped case in general, and not ideal at all for air flow. 

 

P.S. that flow diagram screams OCD ;) Not saying that's a bad thing. It's good that you put a lot of though into it! 

 It actually is very efficient with temps, therefore airflow must be excellent considering my components.

[Arceles]

Here are my temps so I don't lie to you, playing 45 min GRID 2 with max settings except antialiasing (I don't like blurriness)

 

[Vvo]

that's pretty good temps for gaming

[gxsaurav]

 

The sound card in question, creative z OEM version and the GPU:

 

 

 

 

I am looking to buy the same sound card. How is it compared to onboard Realtek audio in games? Does Audio positioning still works in games now that EAX etc is no longer supported.

 

Also, does the card have connector for front panel HD Audio?

[Phouchg]

@Arceles: in our, a bunch of neatfreaks, last chance to catch you red-handed - what are ambient temperatures of your room and do you have AC in the house? :p

[Arceles]

that's pretty good temps for gaming

 

Thanks! I wanted to prove that you don't need a giant case to obtain the optimal cooling on components like mine, including putting a FX8350 processor on a microATX board*

 

I am looking to buy the same sound card. How is it compared to onboard Realtek audio in games? Does Audio positioning still works in games now that EAX etc is no longer supported.

 

Also, does the card have connector for front panel HD Audio?

 

Realtek.... is pretty much bad for my tastes, any kind of onboard audio no matter how premium it is. This card is at the moment the best price/quality ratio and it simply rocks in quality and SNR. The only EAX game that I've tested is Mcgee's Alice, I set the EAX option and it worked just fine under windows 7, haven't tested on 8 but all my modern games are on 8 and no problem whatsoever. Yes, it does have front panel audio, it's the HDA FP in the upper left of the card, all those pins in there.

 

@Arceles: in our, a bunch of neatfreaks, last chance to catch you red-handed - what are ambient temperatures of your room and do you have AC in the house? :p

I don't have AC and I currently live in UK, Sheffield, those temps were from yesterday with closed windows. Temperature was around 27?C** on my room... no, I don't have AC since I'm an student living on a cheap but nice house :D

 

Edit: You can really fell how the moment the processor get's used the case sucks away the hot air, you just have to put the and above it and both top fans let you feel wamness... which I must say, I'm quite impressed since the 120mm 12.5mm depth fan it's the most obstructed one, yet it really get's hot air from somewhere and pulls it out even with the whole bluray drive below it.

 

*I undervolted my processor at stock speeds, applied heatsinks to VRMs and put a fan over them, otherwise throttling was present. I suffer no throttling nowadays thanks to that small mod, I really wanted to use my miniATX case :D

**Due the fact I also closed the door on my room... the case is very good at throwing away the heat, hence the temp.

[Vvo]

Thanks! I wanted to prove that you don't need a giant case to obtain the optimal cooling on components like mine, including putting a FX8350 processor on a microATX board*

 

 

Realtek.... is pretty much bad for my tastes, any kind of onboard audio no matter how premium it is. This card is at the moment the best price/quality ratio and it simply rocks in quality and SNR. The only EAX game that I've tested is Mcgee's Alice, I set the EAX option and it worked just fine under windows 7, haven't tested on 8 but all my modern games are on 8 and no problem whatsoever. Yes, it does have front panel audio, it's the HDA FP in the upper left of the card, all those pins in there.

 

 

The only thing that makes Realtek onboard audio redeeming is the custom audio software i.e SB cinama or the razer surround otherwise the stock realtek software is just horrid. I also have and external sb x-fi go usb sound card is much better with compared to the Realtek onboard audio. Although, it's not as high-end as your sb sound card but I'm able to adjust the sound settings to match my listening preferences. The usb one has the thx and eax just like the pci-e counterpart, but i'm sure the pci-e counterpart has more added audio feature that the usb one doesn't have 

[gxsaurav]

Realtek.... is pretty much bad for my tastes, any kind of onboard audio no matter how premium it is. This card is at the moment the best price/quality ratio and it simply rocks in quality and SNR. The only EAX game that I've tested is Mcgee's Alice, I set the EAX option and it worked just fine under windows 7, haven't tested on 8 but all my modern games are on 8 and no problem whatsoever. Yes, it does have front panel audio, it's the HDA FP in the upper left of the card, all those pins in there.

**Due the fact I also closed the door on my room... the case is very good at throwing away the heat, hence the temp.

 

I checked some videos on YouTube comparing the Audio quality and positioning in games and found Creative to be very wide and better. Xonar was good but Creative was audibly better.

 

Your card looks like an OEM version due to lack of the EMI shield. Which Speaker or headset do you use with these?

[gxsaurav]

The only thing that makes Realtek onboard audio redeeming is the custom audio software i.e SB cinama or the razer surround otherwise the stock realtek software is just horrid. I also have and external sb x-fi go usb sound card is much better with compared to the Realtek onboard audio. Although, it's not as high-end as your sb sound card but I'm able to adjust the sound settings to match my listening preferences. The usb one has the thx and eax just like the pci-e counterpart, but i'm sure the pci-e counterpart has more added audio feature that the usb one doesn't have 

 

I won't be going for a USB device as I have all PCIe slots free in my motherboard. Besides, I want to buy ones and use for many years to come.

 

I was checking difference between Recon3D and Sound Blaster Z. There isn't much difference other then SNR. Recon3D has 106 db while Sound Blaster Z has 116. How much will this affect audio quality if all I am using is either In-ear monitors like Razer Hammerhead or a 5.1 channel headset? Any idea?

[Arceles]

I checked some videos on YouTube comparing the Audio quality and positioning in games and found Creative to be very wide and better. Xonar was good but Creative was audibly better.

 

Your card looks like an OEM version due to lack of the EMI shield. Which Speaker or headset do you use with these?

 

I.... have a very weird setup :D, first I connect with a QED cable from the back port of the sound card to a sony car stereo CDX-GT350MP, Then it goes to a pair of speakers JBL GTO328, and to an active subwoofer Logitech S220 through an auxiliary out port of the car stereo, the idea of this is to have my very own configuration of bass/middle and treeble. The sound quality is excellent but you have to ve carefull about ground loops since a configuration like this is very prone to them, I in fact have to connect the ground port of the car stereo to the chasis of my PC to eliminate any hum that there is on audio.

 

I won't be going for a USB device as I have all PCIe slots free in my motherboard. Besides, I want to buy ones and use for many years to come.

 

I was checking difference between Recon3D and Sound Blaster Z. There isn't much difference other then SNR. Recon3D has 106 db while Sound Blaster Z has 116. How much will this affect audio quality if all I am using is either In-ear monitors like Razer Hammerhead or a 5.1 channel headset? Any idea?

The Recon3D is known to have the same audio processor but less dedicated audio circuitry, i.e. they get the audio straight from the audio processor instead of going the way the Creative Z does, which is through quite a lot of filters and a nice DAC. It's been known that the Creative Z is better than the Recon3D, as for your headphones, I know the creative Z does have an special port for headphones which is amplified, so you can put very high ohm drivers in there.

 

Note, the front port does not have the same characteristics as the back ports, the back ports are the ones that provide the most fidelity on audio.

[Phouchg]

I don't have AC and I currently live in UK, Sheffield, those temps were from yesterday with closed windows. Temperature was around 27?C** on my room... no, I don't have AC since I'm an student living on a cheap but nice house :D

 

Edit: You can really fell how the moment the processor get's used the case sucks away the hot air, you just have to put the and above it and both top fans let you feel wamness... which I must say, I'm quite impressed since the 120mm 12.5mm depth fan it's the most obstructed one, yet it really get's hot air from somewhere and pulls it out even with the whole bluray drive below it.

 

*I undervolted my processor at stock speeds, applied heatsinks to VRMs and put a fan over them, otherwise throttling was present. I suffer no throttling nowadays thanks to that small mod, I really wanted to use my miniATX case :D

**Due the fact I also closed the door on my room... the case is very good at throwing away the heat, hence the temp.

 

Well then, pity that AM3+ cannot be crammed into mITX, there aren't any such boards. We'd know whom to call :rofl:

[gxsaurav]

The Recon3D is known to have the same audio processor but less dedicated audio circuitry, i.e. they get the audio straight from the audio processor instead of going the way the Creative Z does, which is through quite a lot of filters and a nice DAC. It's been known that the Creative Z is better than the Recon3D, as for your headphones, I know the creative Z does have an special port for headphones which is amplified, so you can put very high ohm drivers in there.

 

Note, the front port does not have the same characteristics as the back ports, the back ports are the ones that provide the most fidelity on audio.

 

Both SB Z and Recon3D support 600 Ohm headphones but I won't be needing them as I use a headphone which is using only 29 Ohm. For this even a Xonar DG which was my other choice works fine as it supports upto 150 Ohm headphones.

 

SB Z is over budget for me. I am getting Xonar DG here for around $ 35 in India and Sound Blaster Z is costing me over $120.

 

Any idea if gaming is my only concern, Xonar DG will do fine?

[Arceles]

Both SB Z and Recon3D support 600 Ohm headphones but I won't be needing them as I use a headphone which is using only 29 Ohm. For this even a Xonar DG which was my other choice works fine as it supports upto 150 Ohm headphones.

 

SB Z is over budget for me. I am getting Xonar DG here for around $ 35 in India and Sound Blaster Z is costing me over $120.

 

Any idea if gaming is my only concern, Xonar DG will do fine?

 

I honestly haven't tested any Xonars yet, they say however they have very nice audio circuitry on them, it's a good choice anyway compared to onboard audio.

[Arceles]

Well then, pity that AM3+ cannot be crammed into mITX, there aren't any such boards. We'd know whom to call :rofl:

Exactly my thoughts, I was dissapointed when I only could find FM2 motherboards in mini ATX... then again I don't feel that bad considering that I really wanted a dedicated soundcard :P

[Jamushroom Veteran]

Finally have my setup/room photo worthy! Spend the whole week re-painting my walls, hanging new shelves and making my own custom desk (With Ikea Galant legs. The frame etc is home-made from wood) ! :D

[Arceles]

I see lots of gundams :D

[MrBear5587]

Mine for now. Apologies for the poor quality..

 

[Stup0t]

Check out the over clock.  From 2.4 to 3ghz air cooled and stable.  Currently running folding at home on all 4 cores :)

 

[Jamushroom Veteran]

I see lots of gundams :D

Yeah, haha. There's even more than those though!

[Stup0t]

Current setup.