(no subject)

[psipsy]

Y'know what? I think it was time for a new computer. I spent a lot of time researching parts, comparing strong points to weak points, cross-referencing the features I wanted to the features that were available, reading reviews and benchmark tests, and so on, then spent more time deciding if I wanted to get a 6-core processor, which would have added as much as an extra $400 to the bill.

You're probably thinking "woah, time out, an EXTRA $400? I can buy a whole computer for that much! I call shenanigans!" and you'd be right, that would be enough for a new computer. And it would be functional. The problem there is that all it would be is functional, and would probably be no more powerful than what I have now. The idea is, if I'm going to build a new system, I might as well make as much of a jump as I reasonably can, complete with room for growth and expansion, so the resulting system would also last a long time. However, I've determined that the gains of going to a 6-core aren't worth the extra cost, so those plans are out for now.

The original PC I got back in 2005 evolved quite a bit (mostly by necessity) before crapping out, which was then replaced by some shiny new guts in 2007. And those shiny new guts have also evolved just as much over the years, turning into something that barely resembles what it used to be. There isn't much left I could do to it in terms of upgrades. To be sure, I could shoehorn the GTX760 into it, I could overclock the CPU, I could put an SSD in it, and those would be effective. But things like putting more RAM in isn't worthwhile, since it's already near its maximum. A processor upgrade could work, but quad-cores for S775 are mighty pricey.

So! Here's what I put together last weekend.

Intel i7-4770k w/ Swiftech H220 water-cooling kit
Asus Z87-Deluxe
2x8GB DDR3-2133 (two slots filled, two to go)
GTX760 (with room for another for SLI)
256GB SSD w/ Windows 7 Pro x64
3TB for bulk data (with room for 4 more drives)
Blu-ray + DVD-RW
850W modular power supply
Vengeance C70 mid-tower

I knew ahead of time the Haswell chips run hot, and giving it a workout with Prime95 confirmed this, as it went right up all the way to 100C, where it started to throttle itself. So I had to go back and get a hefty sized water cooling kit for it. There are aftermarket air coolers that would be sufficient, but I figured I might as well go in balls deep. Now it maxes out at something more reasonable like 70C and is freakishly quiet. One problem I encountered was getting the motherboard to talk to the water pump properly, which is a pretty big deal. It won't let the computer boot up otherwise. The pump portion was working, but the motherboard wasn't seeing it, so it freaked out, effectively saying "wait CPU fan WHERE?". Fortunately I figured out which wires to move around and otherwise poke at.

I've also been measuring power consumption on both the new and old systems. Interesting results. More on that later.


"But psipsy, I don't understand any of that! What in hell does all this mean to me? Why should I care?" I don't know. But if it makes you feel better, it means I won't ask YOU to fix MY computer. Ponder on the horrifying implications of what kind of computer problems I could possibly have that would be outside of my abilities and expertise.