Unclescar

I'm not limited on USB ports. I just have many things plugged in at a time through USB, and many more swapped in and out as necessary, and I'd like to not use a USB external CD drive when there is plenty of room, and even a spot built into the case for the thing to be on the inside. The 900D is a huge case. the mobo I have picked out has many many USB ports. Its not a matter of case room or lack of USB ports, it's a matter of hiding the CD drive so that its accessible and usable, while maintaining the nice appearance of the case. Why is the advice in the case modding section about how to avoid modding the case? I WANT to mod the case, that's why I'm here asking, i just want to do it right.

haha! I think part of the point of the 900D is so that I can fit everything inside the case... I have a large amount of peripherals and USB keys for software that stay plugged in at all times. I won't waste a USB port for something that could/should easily fit inside. I'm already doing some case modding, I just want to know how I should go about this particular part of it.

In my new case, a 900D, it's much wider than your standard disk drive, and requires the removal of a cover, and then the drive is indented and doesn't really look appealing. really a huge damper on the sleek look of the case. I've been looking around and I can't seem to find any advice for an easy but effective way to hide a DvD drive. I know by now that most people consider a CD drive of any kind to be useless and pointless, but I like having them because I use my computer as a media device often, and my lady and I like to rent movies. I'd like to only do it once, which means I need to do it right the first time. What would be my best mode of action? I've considered taking the clips off the back of the plate and attaching the plate to the front of the drive so that the whole plate comes out and in as I open/close the drive, however, i'm not sure what would be best for attaching the two, and I'd also lose access to the open close button on the front of the drive. I've heard of "remapping" the button in a sense, so that I can access it elsewhere, but I've no clue how to go about doing that. I've also considered installing a hinge and button/clip top the plate so that I can press it and swing it open to gain access to the drive, but I feel like changing the clips out for this method would result in the plate not sitting flush with the other plates around it. Just looking for input. If you know of a tutorial someone has put up elsewhere, please point me to it. Thanks!

no bias... but there is a reason that so many people recommend the 840 evo SSDs over pretty much everything else. They aren't the cheapest, but hot damn they are a solid choice for any SSD need.

a lot of the comments seem to not realize that the titan is a 780 with 6gb vram and the double precision thing enabled, and the titan black is a 780 ti with 6gb vram and the double precision thing enabled. The 780 6gb is the regular titan without it enabled, and the (hopefully) soon to be release 780 ti 6gb is the titan black without it enabled. The titan black is to the titan as the 780 ti is to the 780, with the black and ti having the rest of the card unlocked and slightly higher clock speeds. for video editing and 3d rendering, the extra ram will help, i'm unsure if the double precision will with the software you use, but you can look it up. gaming wise the 780ti and titan black are equal because they are the exact same card, overclock just as well, but the titan black will pull ahead when you get to a point where you use more vram, such as larger textures and higher resolutions, exponentially so when you use things like AA. in games at 1080p its "near impossible" to go over 3gb, but at 1440p its not unheard of, especially for modded skyrim, and higher than 1440 it's pretty common for games alone to use more than 3gb. you won't get much of a benefit from a third in sli due to massive diminishing returns, but if you can afford to SLI titan blacks, you won't need to upgrade your video power for quite a few years, and you'll be happier longer with that then you would with sli 780 tis.

I have actually had troubles with SSD's myself. it's my own fault for buying refurbished though. Believe it or not, the first SSD I ever purchased actually squeaked and had an annoying slight ring. hard to understand with no moving parts.. turns out there was a disconnect at the sata port on the drive, and as it vibrated when i bumped my desk, it disconnected and BSODed. The first brand new SSD I got was a samsung Evo, and immediately every single issue I ever had with SSDs was suddenly gone! I'm sorry for your issue, but unless you bought a faulty piece of hardware multiple times, I'm going to join in with saying its more likely a user error. SSDs aren't built for constant high traffic. constantly moving huge files to and from them isn't what they are built to do. they are built to be written to occasionally, but give amazing read capabilities. This is why it's much better to install programs to an SSD, but have files and everything else on HDDs. Write once, read quickly often. things like games and OS that get installed and then stay installed until you either replace the drive altogether or upgrade whatever. Large files and video files don't really benefit from being on an SSD in the first place.. And as for any drive, rearranging and uninstalling/reinstalling can ware down your storage device if you don't metaphorically clean up after yourself, every drive will run less and less optimally as it gets more disorganized and messy with bits and pieces of things that don't exist anymore hanging around.

I'm doing a black and purple theme for my build. (purple LED fans and purple colored custom waterloop.) I don't like blue LEDs because they tend to be very bright and distracting, purple is much more subtle, and sexy. I plan on using the 4930K as the 5930K isn't out yet, and doesn't seem like a huge performance increase, especially after overclocking, and the 5960X will very likely be out of my price range since I'll be back in school by the time its released. I'd like to have my computer built and complete before money becomes an issue. So far it seems I'll be using the Rampage Extreme Black edition since its the only black 2011 mobo I could find.. even though it has a few red accents. Everything else was either gold or blue. So as far as the 2011 socket goes, is there a less expensive option that fits my color scheme? such as an all black mobo, or a purple mobo? or even a black mobo shield that will hide the mobo regardless of what color it is? I'm not worried about price, obviously since I'm looking at the 4930K and the rampage extreme black edition.. but if I can achieve my goal in less money, it'd be a wonderful option.

oops mistype.. I'm not used to these forums editors.

What software do you use? I'm about to build a new mega-PC that will be my audio workstation. i'm used to Reason, (and Finale for sheet music scoring) and am trying to get better at protools. I dig the intro. I feel like if you re-arranged the song a bit and hinted at a catchy melody, (like a chorus vs verse vs bridge if you know what those mean in music lingo [i assume yes]) you'd be much more pleased with the overall song. I agree with the drum samples. they sound a bit out of place.. mostly the high-hat and snare though. for the snare specifically i think a touch of distortion would make it sound punchier (fits the style a bit more), and then adding a splash of reverb and then mixing it to be a bit quieter relative to the rest of the instruments would make it sound much less out of place while still being audible and giving the effect that the snare should give used in this fashion. Hi-hat wise I think I'd shorten the sound to make it a bit more clicky and sharp, and then fade it down in volume just a tad so that you can still hear it and it's effect, but doesn't stick out so much from the rest of the mix. Oops, after rereading the rest of the post I'm guessing this post is a bit too late and I'm unsure if you are even still interested in tweaking this composition.. grats on your sub special!

It's a semi-commonly known fact that having two 3gb cards, like a 780 in SLI, does not actually result in 6gb of useable vram, and having two 2gb cards doesn't mean you have 4gb of vram. Then you see dual GPU cards such as the 295x2 (two R9 290x 4gb) listed as an 8gb card, and the titanZ (two Titan Black 6gb) at 12Ggb. However, are these not just SLI and Xfire setups on the same PCB? I'm just mildly curious since so many misconceptions seem to be thrown out as fact. How does it actually work?

"In store pick-up only... 10+ in stock at your chosen location" Well! Since I have tomorrow off, I might just make a short trip over out of curiosity!

I too am also waiting til July-ish (prolly near the end) before making my decision on graphics for my new computer. you can SLI 780 6gbs for the same price as a single titan, or you can tri SLI 780 6gbs for the price of two 3gb 780 tis. However, with SLI scaling not being very well past two cards, if you aren't making your purchase til July, just wait and see if the 780 ti 6gbs are out by then, and SLI them instead for about $100 more than sli 3gb 780 tis. Some call it a rumor, but there was a forum moderator somewhere ( can't recall if it was EVGA's forums or Nvidia's) who at the time said "the 780 should be out very soon, and we are hoping to release the ti varient shortly after." Well, the 780 6gb has been out for a while now (though its stil pretty new), so I'm really hoping the 780 ti 6gb is out by the time I need to make my purchase. The EVGA superclocked and Dual Classified versions are very good snags based on reviews and comparisons for the current line of 780 tis, I'm really hoping they have a dual classified version of the 6gb ti.

First time I did a few computer upgrades on my i7 2600k build, I swapped out Intel's stock cooler for a corsair H55. I didn't do it for overclocking, I did it because in just moderate use it was getting very hot, idling in the mid 50s. At the time of this upgrade, I wasn't quite confident in my ability to properly install a cpu cooler, so I had my buddy who spends a lot of time around computers do it. I don't recall which compound he used, some fancy aftermarket one. When we initially took the stock cooler off (I didn't install the cooler when building the computer), it was like they hardly used any compound at all. I'm assuming it was preinstalled on the heatsink, like a little sticker, a very thin uneven layer that didn't cover much of the cpu either way. then a few weeks ago, I was prepping the computer for being sold, doing a dust clean out and swapping fans for quieter ones since one had coil wine and the other seemed to be loud and high RPM at all times. I also rearranged some wires and moved the H55 radiator to a place that it fit a bit better. Much more confident in my ability to install a cpu and cooler, I took the cooler off, only to find a thick uneven layer of paste and that some of it had bubbled out the side and dried up on the mobo. Obviously I cleaned this up with some isoprhoweveritsspelled alcohol and toilet paper, replaced the cooler after using a new tube of ICdiamond thermal compound that I got from microcenter, and things ended up the way I expected them to run, nice and quiet and cool. (even with just an H55, at load it stayed under 60c with a warm ambient temp) I did Linus's "grain of rice" technique. Guessing it worked since its ran wonderfully and cool since. But that silly long story aside, I feel like the first time, there wasn't enough compound, and my cpu was running hot, even for a stock cooler which is oviously meh. Then the second time I feel like there was WAY too much, and I had to do it myself to get it right the third time. So is too much thermal compound just as bad as not quite enough? worse, is it irrelevent and doesn't matter?

So unless the 780ti 6gbs come out soon, tri SLI 780 6gbs will be my best bet Nvidia side? What are thoughts on the R9 295x2? Seems they took the 290x, put two on the same PCB for crossfire performance, and then fixed the heat issue while also boosting clock speed? with the option to get a second 295x2 later and have 4 way crossfire, which at higher resolutions has been shown to scale very well in gaming benchmarks, I suppose I should consider that as well.

I wanted a few more opinions. the first time around wasn't very helpful and I didn't feel very reassured. 4+ monitor setup. 2x 2560x1440, 1x 3440x1440, at least one 1920x1080. No plans on going 4K as I have no need for it. The three 1440 monitors will be side by side, the wider one in the middle. the other screens will be placed above in no specific order. I'll only be gaming on the middle monitor, the 21:9 1440. the others are for production, though I'll still be making use of them while gaming. Some mild overclocking if possible, though not necessary, will be liquid cooled soon after installation either way. I'm not too interested in waiting til next year for the 800 series, though I might reconsider later if when they arrive they bring very noticeable performance increases. I'm the kind of guy that will put settings as high as I can while maintaining very good framerates (55+) my most demanding game at the moment is heavily modded skyrim. I'm not too into the whole First Person Shooter scene, but when a new awesome game that catches my interest comes out in the next few years, I'd like to be able to play it at pretty high detail.. I will also be doing a respectable amount of video editing and related graphic design, but not any 3D rendering stuff. I don't need a workstation grade graphics card for those though as they are just a hobby, a side project. I've been looking at the 780 TIs, the regular 780s for SLI, the 6gb 780s for SLI (though I know the whole 'useless' situation for gaming), and the titan blacks. I've always had a better experience with Nvidia than AMD, but I'm not opposed to an R9 290x Xfire situation.. according to tests though, the 780 ti's have better real world performance in everything but crysis, which I won't be playing anyway. So many conflicting opinions on the matter. I'm not crazy educated, but I do understand a few things. Firstly, the 780 and regular titan use only about 80% of the chip, the TI and the Titan Black use the chip to its full ability. also the double precision thing on the titan isn't beneficial for gaming. Is it for Video Editing and graphic design though? Secondly, the 6GB of the newer 780s and the titan black can't be used to the fullest in games due to bottlenecks elsewhere, even in SLI setups. at higher than 1080p and standard 1440p resolutions benefit from more than 3GB Vram, especially in SLI? would the extra RAM help outside of gaming? Thirdly, since price is about equal, what are your thoughts on a tri SLI 780 6gb and just an SLI 780 ti? Here's for hoping that the 6gb 780ti comes out soon? Fourthly, with the heat/noise issue of the 290x's being fixed from watercooling, would they bring adequate and acceptable performance in a crossfire setup compared to the 6gb SLI 780s? Any other options that will give me fantastic performance now, with no need to upgrade for a while? I dunno. I'm kinda stuck. I'm rambling. Just give me input, with reasoning included. Thank you ahead of time.

4930K and 32 GB ram on a Asus Rampage extreme black edition. I was looking at the P9x79-E WS, but the blue/light blue/white scheme didn't look good with the purple and black theme I'm going with, and I am assuming there isn't a mobo shield available for it that could hide the colors as I couldn't find one. I was willing to pay a bit more for a mobo that actually looked good in my system through my case window. According to one of EVGA's forum mods ('evgajacob" I think.. I don't have a link to the exact page anymore, sorry..) the 6gb 780ti is scheduled to be released shortly after the 780, sometime in May or June. The 780 is out, and it's middle of May, so hopefully soon. So it seems the cost of the titan isn't even close to justified by the minor performance increase, the 780 ti 6gb SLI would perform pretty much the same as the titan black but at a slightly lower price point, but the 6gb 780 SLI would give me plenty adequate performance in my situation for good years to come, and the performance increase of the other options isn't noticeable and not worth the price? I suppose on a 60hz screen I won't really notice the difference between 120 and 140 FPS.. Reasonable arguements indeed. Thanks for the input. I might sleep alright tonight.

I have it bookmarked. But enough about that. Any other input?

At least I used punctuation and spacing, with at least minimal amount of organization. It's not a TOTAL wall of text..

So my new build is audio workstation oriented. Video capabilities aren't of much importance in that matter. However, it will also be my gaming and hobby station as well, and I'd like to not have to upgrade it any time soon. I'll be HD gaming (mostly modded skyrim and WoW, maybe something else new if there is anything interesting in the future), streaming, and doing some basic but frequent video editing and graphic design at 1440p, soon upgrading to a 21:9 monitor (3360x1440?). I will have a 4-5 monitor setup, but I'll likely only be gaming on my main one, which will also be the biggest. I'm deciding between 2x780 6gb SLI, a titan black with 2xSLI when I can, or 2x780 ti 6gb SLI if they become available soon. I've got my heart set on 6gb, and also on NVidia as my overall experience has just been better with them than with AMD. They will be air cooled for a few months, but I have a custom water loop planned for the rest of the life of this computer. Assume mild overclocks for the epeen, just to say I did it. Pros of the 780 6gb SLI: I can get both for just a tad more than a single Titan black, having the benefits of SLI and the 6gb buffer for the cheapest price, and is available now. Pros of the Titan Black: faster than a 780 with better computing power than 780 or the 780 ti, available now and can SLI later. Pros of the 780 6gb SLI: Faster and slightly more powerful than the non ti varient, much less expensive than titan black SLI. Cons of the 780 6gb SLI: Overall lowest performance. Cons of the Titan Black: Most expensive, will be a while before I could get a second one, if they are even still available by then. Cons of the 780 ti: Less compute performance than titan black, also not yet available. So my questions: Should I get a Titan Black now, live with the non SLI performance and hope they are still available when I can get a second? For the games I'll be playing (modded skyrim and WoW) would I even really notice a difference in performance at less than 4K resolution? Would waiting for the 6gb version of the 780 ti (expected to be out any day now before the end of next month) be worth it? Am I over thinking this? Is life even real? Is the color green for you the same color green for me?! Please give your input, as well as a quick summary of why you input is at it is. I like to know why. Thanks in advance guys.

OH nice! I wasn't aware that the 6gb version of the 780 was available yet. I couldn't find it anywhere. Any chance the 6gb version of the 780 ti is out yet? (not the titan black, obviously) Would two 6gb 780s in SLI beat a single Titan Black for the same price? would it be worth the wait for a 6gb 780 ti? should I get a titan black and just SLI a second on later? or should I just hold off on finishing my computer waiting for the next generation of video cards? I'll be gaming and recording at high detail at 3360x1440 minimum, as well as doing frequent 1080p video editing.

So I'm working on a new audio workstation build with gaming on the side. I've got pretty much every thing picked out except video card.. (any input on that matter would be wonderful. I don't need high power video capability for my audio needs, but gaming/recording and video editing I'd like to have my best option.) That said.. The ONLY difference between equally clocked (or OC'd) 780 ti vs Titan Black is the extra vram and double precision stuffs on the titan. Since SLI can't make use of the VRAM of the second GPU, why can't we SLI a single titan black and a single 780 ti, using the vram of the titan and the processor power benefits of sli? That possibility needs to happen. I understand that SLI requires the same amount of on board memory for it to work, but if it's not making use of the memory of the second, I feel there should be a workaround. I think It'd be so amazingly wonderful if you could have a titan black as your main card for the 6GB frame buffer, then use 780 ti's SLI'd with it to get the performance benefits of SLI for much less than multiple titans. Just my thoughts.