MalcolmSex

It's mostly frequencies but sometimes also updates. usually obscure variants of Samsung devices don't get as many software updates. For example for the Galaxy S4, only the Korean and American versions will be getting Lollipop.

"get early access" this is internet fast lanes all over again

"get early access" this is internet fast lanes all over again

Why have quality when you can have quantity.

Don't buy anything "soundblaster" Go with the E10K imo

In some cases, people's imaginations. Fidelity means faithfulness to the original. If an amp changes the sound then it is by definition lowering the quality, whether or not is sounds subjectively "good".
 
If an amp is downright insufficient to drive a pair of headphones it will be obvious, either as audible clipping or else insufficient volume.

My quick 2 cents

If you decide to go cheaper, I've tried the Corsiar Sp2500s, the Bose compaion 5s and the Klipsch Promedia 2.1s.

I found the Bose while clear and concise to be a bit underwhelming (and lower output). The Corsiars are fantastic all round speakers and you can't really go wrong with them. With that said, I absolutely LOVE my Klipsch Promedia 2.1s! The lower frequencies can be a bit overwhelming, but every time I turn them on I am pleasantly reminded why they were the best $100 purchase I have ever made. To fill the rest of your budget, I they respond highly to the audio signal. Get a decent DAC (minunum of 98db Snr) and adjusting the volume on a separate amp can clean things up as well.
 
Side note: For some reason the built in 3.5mm jack on mine sounded horrible, but thankfully there's an AUX input on the side of the control speaker. 

Reminds me of a build i posted on here a long time ago

Reminds me of a build i posted on here a long time ago

Reminds me of a build i posted on here a long time ago

You gain a full 8 fps by using an APU! Shweet
Seems pretty cool though.

Source: http://attackofthefanboy.com/news/halo-master-chief-collection-pc-edition-appears-amazon-uk/
Amazon UK listing: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Microsoft-Press-Master-Chief-Collection/dp/B00LU32EDM/ref=sr_1_4?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1407160787&sr=1-4&keywords=Halo%3A+The+Master+Chief+Collection
 
 
This could very well be some sort of elaborate hoax, but man I sure hope it isn't. I love Halo, more than you may think, and I would love to go back and replay all of them on my PC with higher resolutions, higher framerates, possible mod support, and who knows what else. I really, and I mean really want this to be a thing.
 
It would be extremely smart of Microsoft to bring this out on the PC, because well, for 2 very obvious reasons: 1) They would a TON more money and 2) PC players of Halo still haven't "finished the fight" yet. Sooner or later Microsoft has to come out with at least Halo 3 for PC. But since they have The Master Chief Collection coming out, they'll just release that instead.
 
I dunno if this is true or not. It may be a hoax, it may not be a hoax. There's too little information to tell right now, so we'll just have to wait for more leaks/rumors or for Microsoft themselves to reveal it for PC.
 

Great first post
 
As for this, I agree. Why the hell would devs go for Mantle when OpenGL is here and actually works well?

*facepalm* what kind of freaking price drop is this?

This is so cool. I like your style

Hi guys and girls. With The Dark Carnival coming to a close (one more modding session will complete it) I was going to be at a loose end. Then a conversation began on another forum I frequent about Westmere Xeons and which ones work with X58 boards. 
 
A few weeks back whilst at my brother's house I found a box that I had stashed there a couple of years back. It was a EVGA shipping carton. Inside I found this -
 

 
It's the board out of my old Alienware Aurora. It's manufactured by MSI (look at the code number's font).
 
Any way, the conversation continued and I decided to start looking to see what a hex cored Xeon (Westmere) might cost. I'm rather strapped for cash so I set myself a budget of £45 which to be honest was completely unrealistic. A few days passed and I continued to hawk Ebay and then I found this.
 

 
For exactly £48. It said it was a hex cored Xeon so I put the serial number into Google, as the date on the CPU didn't quite add up. It turns out (after finding a website in China and then translating it into English) that the chip was actually a prototype I9. Looking at the date and doing a bit of research it would seem Intel had hex cored CPUs planned in 2008. However, for some reason or another they never made the light of day. Maybe it was that AMD had nothing to make it worth it, or poor support from software, who knows? either way one of them is on its way to me.
 
So now I needed a case. I did not want to spend any more money just yet in case it won't post (though I do have confirmation from Dell that the X58 express chipset will work with any Westmere so long as you have the 980x bios on) but I decided to spend some time digging on Amazon as I was rather excited. I found this.
 

 
For £18 delivered (half price !) so I just could not resist.
 
Other hardware will be a GTX 670 Jetstream and numerous left over parts from Dark Carnival. I'll probably hack the living daylights out of it to be honest.
 
The build will be themed in blue and black..
 
More soon

Update 4/3/14: I spent the last few months since my first post making some updates to the build.  Updates copied from my reddit post on /r/cablemanagement:
 
Re-sleeved the 24-pin to remove the cable extension and sewed the wires to maintain the evenness of the cable coming out of the motherboard.
Shortened the length of the PCI-E cable and added three stitches to maintain evenness. The stitches keep the cable very rigid and as it passes through the back panel grommet I have it running under the corner of the GPU. This serves to prop the GPU up, eliminating GPU sag completely.
Removed the drive cages and mounted the HDD to the floor with anti-vibration mounting (before while in the Corsair cage, the HDD vibrations would move my mouse cursor. Problem solved and bonus airflow.)
Mounted the SSD to the rear panel to be in view from the window.
Non-cable management related: Added Bitspower fan adaptors and 120mm SP120 PWM fans to the rad. I had to literally break the locking clip on the ESP connector to get it to fit. The ESP connector is very rigid due to the sleeving, routing, and sewing so it does not budge unless I remove the whole cable.
Upgraded to 4770K thanks to Staples for $230
Enjoy!
 





 
Hello All,
 
Several individuals over on /r/buildapc recommended that I post my build log over here for you guys to enjoy.  Let me know what you guys think.  Although if it's anything like the reddit response, I'm gonna wager you'll like it.
 
Lightning 350D
 
Full build album: http://imgur.com/a/32cDo
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 


 
 
 

 
Obligatory photographer shot:

 
Parts List:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks
CPU:  Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($239.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler:  NZXT Kraken X60 98.3 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($129.99)
Motherboard:  ASRock Z87M OC Formula Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($179.99)
Memory:  Corsair Dominator Platinum 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($231.75)
Storage:  Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($122.99)
Storage:  Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (Owned)
Video Card:  MSI GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card  ($546.81 @ Newegg)
Case:  Corsair 350D Window MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan:  Corsair Air Series AF120 Quiet Edition 39.9 CFM 120mm  Fan  ($17.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan:  Corsair Air Series SP120 High Performance Edition 62.7 CFM 120mm  Fan  ($18.68 @ NCIX US)
Case Fan:  Corsair Air Series AF140 Quiet Edition 67.8 CFM 140mm  Fan  ($17.98 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan:  Corsair Air Series AF140 Quiet Edition 67.8 CFM 140mm  Fan  ($17.98 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan:  Corsair Air Series AF140 Quiet Edition 67.8 CFM 140mm  Fan  ($17.98 @ OutletPC)
Power Supply:  Corsair RM 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($129.99)
Operating System:  Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro - 64-bit - OEM (64-bit)  (Free via MSDNAA)
Monitor:  QNIX Perfect Pixel QX2710 Matte 60Hz 27.0" Monitor  ($406.99)
Keyboard:  Corsair Vengeance K70 Wired Gaming Keyboard  ($121.98 @ Newegg)
Mouse:  Razer Orochi Bluetooth Wireless Laser Mouse  (Owned)
Total: $2301.08
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-31 16:45 EST-0500)
 
Build Notes:
This is actually my very first start-to-finish build. In the past, I have had pre-builts from Dell that I managed to upgrade on my own and I have always had very strong knowledge of electronics and computer components in general. My last computer was my beloved Gateway P-7805u FX that served me extremely well for 4 years.  I upgraded the processor to an Intel T9600, and pretty much everything else that could be upgraded. My main motivation was pretty much the build itself and making it look awesome and not necessary what I could do with it. When I finished I felt like the boys at the end of Make Love Not Warcraft: "Kyle: So, what do we do now? Cartman: What d'you mean? Now we can finally play the game." All of the cable sleeving was done by me including crimping, cutting, and soldering of all custom length wires. I purchased the necessary tools and materials almost exclusively from Lutro0 Customs and also relied heavily on Josiah's sleeving guides and tutorials. I probably spent another $200 - $250 on sleeving materials and tools. 90% of the time I spent on this build was sleeving and cable managing. I'm pretty sure I went through 400+ zip ties routing and re-routing cables. The 24-pin gave me the most headache, not because it was time consuming to sleeve nor that there were double wires, but because the wires looked messy and "unkempt" when the connector was plugged in. Here is what I meanMy OCD would not allow this and so I made a 24-pin extension so that the cables would align nicely. I have since bought one of Lutro0's 24-pin cable clamps to see if I can use that instead and remove the excess wire length the extension created. I purchased the QNIX through Newegg shortly after Newegg began selling them. Although I only paid for the non-perfect pixel version, the seller sent me a perfect pixel anyway. There was one stuck pixel right smack in the middle of the screen when I first powered it on, but I (literally) gave it a little massage and it went away. I have overclocked it to 120Hz. Timing on the 780 Lightning price cut could not have been at a better time. I was waiting for the 290X non-reference coolers to be released but my dream was really to have a Lightning. Current and Future Developments:
The CPU is currently overclocked to 4.5GHz at 1.275v which has been very stable via IntelBurnTest, Prime95, etc. Case and Kraken fans: I am fully aware that the Air Series AF140s I'm using with the Kraken's radiator are neither static pressure fans nor are they PWM fans since Corsair does not make static pressure PWM 140mm fans (except those bundled with the H110). But for aesthetic reasons, I think you can see why I'm using them anyway. That said, I have purchased this bracket to retro-fit 120mm PWM SP120s which will maintain the aesthetic quality of the build.  Fitment in the 350D is a question but I'm fairly confident I can finagle them in there. Lastly, I have some Coollaboratory Liquid Pro on the way as I plan to de-lid and re-apply the TIM to see if I can get to 4.6GHz stable. We'll see how that goes. Overclocks on the Lightning are fairly unstable and I have left it at stock clocks for now.  The card runs BF4 beautifully in stock form, and is very unstable even with mild overclocks.  This could be a combination of BF4 being a POS, drivers, or who knows. As mentioned, I've purchased Lutro0's 24-pin, and 3 x 8-pin cable clamps from Frozencpu to better orient the cables and hopefully remove the need for the additional cable extension that creates so much excess cabling under the back panel. Because the Lightning takes up 2.5 PCI-E slots, SLI unfortunately is not an option until I commit to a full water loop.  This time next year perhaps...

Are they actualy black or brown? Because on pictures theys are all black but in reality they pissed me of.

Hooray, expensive cards for everyone!

I was lurking and doing research on Ultrabooks for school when I discovered that Samsung has some pretty sweet products coming into fruition. But wait there's more, they're already on sale (in the US)!
 
For those of you who do not know, Samsung has decided to rename their series of ultrabooks as the ATIV line. For example, the ATIV book 7 replaces the series 7 ultra ect and the ATIV book 9 replaces the series 9 ultrabook.

The two new ultrabooks now for sale are the ATIV Book 9 Plus and it's cheaper brother the ATIV Book 9 Lite. Both feature touch screens and identical exteriors, but are otherwise fairly different.
 
 
 
 
ATIV Book 9 Lite 
-has a "1.4ghz quad core" which appears to be of the Richland APU variety
-Integrated HD8250 
-1366x769 touch screen
-5.5 hour battery
-plastic construction for the keyboard/palmrest
-base 128gb ssd
-3.48lbs
 
available for preorder on Newegg and purchase at Abt Electronics for $800
http://www.abt.com/product/70869/Samsung-NP915S3GK01US.html?utm_source=scfroogle&utm_medium=sc&utm_campaign=NP915S3GK01US&adtype=pla
 
 
ATIV Book 9 Plus
- Haswell 1.6ghz i5-4200U 
-13.3" 3200x1800 10-point multi-touch screen (1080p option on Samsung's website, although all models linked are 3200x1800)
-HD4400
-11-12 hours of battery life!!!
-Full aluminium unibody
-base 128gb ssd
-2.56lbs
 
Available for purchase at for $1400
-Abt electronics: http://www.abt.com/product/71014/Samsung-NP940X3GK01US.html?utm_source=scfroogle&utm_medium=sc&utm_campaign=NP940X3GK01US&adtype=pla
-Adorama: http://www.adorama.com/SSG940X3GK01.html?gclid=CNGl5d3c1rgCFS3hQgoda1YAjQ
-B&H
 
 
samsung's site: http://www.samsung.com/global/ativ/ativbook9plus.html
engadget: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/20/samsung-ativ-book-9-plus-and-ativ-book-9-lite-hands-on/
 
and before someone posts it, I do know that AMD powered systems cannot be called ultrabooks

I was lurking and doing research on Ultrabooks for school when I discovered that Samsung has some pretty sweet products coming into fruition. But wait there's more, they're already on sale (in the US)!
 
For those of you who do not know, Samsung has decided to rename their series of ultrabooks as the ATIV line. For example, the ATIV book 7 replaces the series 7 ultra ect and the ATIV book 9 replaces the series 9 ultrabook.

The two new ultrabooks now for sale are the ATIV Book 9 Plus and it's cheaper brother the ATIV Book 9 Lite. Both feature touch screens and identical exteriors, but are otherwise fairly different.
 
 
 
 
ATIV Book 9 Lite 
-has a "1.4ghz quad core" which appears to be of the Richland APU variety
-Integrated HD8250 
-1366x769 touch screen
-5.5 hour battery
-plastic construction for the keyboard/palmrest
-base 128gb ssd
-3.48lbs
 
available for preorder on Newegg and purchase at Abt Electronics for $800
http://www.abt.com/product/70869/Samsung-NP915S3GK01US.html?utm_source=scfroogle&utm_medium=sc&utm_campaign=NP915S3GK01US&adtype=pla
 
 
ATIV Book 9 Plus
- Haswell 1.6ghz i5-4200U 
-13.3" 3200x1800 10-point multi-touch screen (1080p option on Samsung's website, although all models linked are 3200x1800)
-HD4400
-11-12 hours of battery life!!!
-Full aluminium unibody
-base 128gb ssd
-2.56lbs
 
Available for purchase at for $1400
-Abt electronics: http://www.abt.com/product/71014/Samsung-NP940X3GK01US.html?utm_source=scfroogle&utm_medium=sc&utm_campaign=NP940X3GK01US&adtype=pla
-Adorama: http://www.adorama.com/SSG940X3GK01.html?gclid=CNGl5d3c1rgCFS3hQgoda1YAjQ
-B&H
 
 
samsung's site: http://www.samsung.com/global/ativ/ativbook9plus.html
engadget: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/20/samsung-ativ-book-9-plus-and-ativ-book-9-lite-hands-on/
 
and before someone posts it, I do know that AMD powered systems cannot be called ultrabooks

I built this PC for a friend of mine. He wanted something quiet and flashy, but also something which will last him for a long time. I did my best to abide. Check out the pictures below to see the results.
 
No sponsors, nothing fancy, just cash
 
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 Windowed
 
CPU: Intel Core i5 4670k
 
Motherboard: MSI Z87 M-Power

RAM: 16GB Crucial Ballistix Sport LP 1600mz cas 9 @1.35v (only one stick shown)
 
Graphics: MSI GTX 680 Lightning
 
CPU Cooling: Phanteks ph-tc14pe
 
Boot Drive: Samsung 840 120gb
 
Storage: 3TB Seagate Momentus 7200rpm
 
Power Supply: (modified) OCZ ZT650w 
 
Additional: NZXT HUE and Corsair AF140 QE fan(s)
 
I believe he also has a razer BW ultimate keyboard and a corsair M60 mouse.
 
The parts all lined up 

 
The PSU was a little loud, so I installed a 140mm Cougar Vortex fan to silence it.  

It worked great! Now the PSU is practically inaudible. 
 
Just installed the CPU and wanted to check out my lazy custom cabling

 
We're getting there. Just wanted to stop and take a look. 

Did you notice the Pci covers? I would have done the hard drive trays as well, but I thought it would be too much yellow
 
Time to install the graphics card! He is so lucky. This 680 lightning is so nice

 

 
 
THE FINISHED PRODUCT
 

 

 

 

 

 
I hoped you guys liked it. Other than a few software problems, it was a blast to build.
 
also, if you liked it, check out my personal rig. http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/13117-project-juiced-budget-modded-itx-build/#entry140069
 

cant we just stick with our resolutions and approximate processing power and get better battery life?

cant we just stick with our resolutions and approximate processing power and get better battery life?