xXDeltaXx

Yeah, a Solidworks PDM server setup... Archive recommends 4GB, and Database recommends 8GB. According to support, they would add the two together and call that the suggested minimum. http://www.solidworks.com/sw/support/PDMSystemRequirements.html

It has gigabit network ports, and I'm using 7200RPM drives... and hopefully 16GB of RAM (upgrading the std 4GB) http://wss.thecus.com/product_W5810.php

It is supposed to be able to do RAID 0/1/5/6

Cool, thank you. Providing I can work my way through the setup, which would be the best solution - 5 drives in RAID 5, RAID 6, or if I can get it to work RAID 5 + Hot Spare? The plan is to take my existing Synology and use that as a backup for the Thecus...

Hi, I'm after some configuration suggestions... I'm building a Windows storage server for Solidworks, general file storage and backups... I was looking at a Thecus 2 bay solution, but due to a RAM requirement from Solidworks, I've moved to a 5 bay solution - the Thecus W5810. Moving from the planned 2 bay to the 5 bay design proposes an interesting thought. I've ordered 2x 4TB drives with the plan of putting them in RAID 1. As I now have an extra 3 bays available, is it better to populate a second RAID 1 (2 drive) or a RAID 5 (3 drive) when the first set of drives get full. Or, is it better to get additional drives now, creating a RAID 5 or RAID 6 from the full 5 drive setup? (Or, I guess adding more drives to the initial ones and formatting them into a new RAID array) Thoughts...?

Well, it appears that my question has already been bounced around... it'd be nice if they let us know their findings on 2x flex bridges and / or 2x single PCB bridges (or even a mix).

Nifty little thing... looks a lot easier to use than a conventional projector - and easier to wire neatly (rather than a ceiling mounted one).

Hi, just a quick update - prompted by a message from Bahz on the ROG forum... I updated to the latest BIOS (1402) around the end of Jan / beginning of Feb... so far I've not had any ACPI Event 56 errors show up since the 11th of Feb (not sure when I updated exactly, so there may have been one or two since the update). However, there have been little to few of those errors, and more importantly, I don't believe I've had a freeze / crash while running that that BIOS. Incidentally, I've responded to Bahz's request for an copy of the event 56 error - so, hopefully that may give some insight as to what the issue was. It is worth noting that I've not applied any overclocks or anything as of yet - so I will be back after I've got things set as I want them (plus a new install of Windows) & will let you know if I have any issues.

Really... some people will do anything for a bit of money... ;-)

Gaming Rig specs: (No overclocks at the moment) 6700k on a Maximus VIII Hero GTX980Ti Strix 32GB RAM Score: all the way up to 11

Testing to date:

After dealing with AOC - apparently, they found no issue with my 1st monitor... 60Hz from the ASUS Strix or the onboard video = loss of signal, and rarely refreshes back. 30Hz from the ASUS Strix = fine. No loss of signal, but painful to do anything with at 30 Hz 30Hz from the onboard = loss of signal, tends to recover OK, but not 100% 29Hz from the onboard = loss of signal, tends to recover OK, but not 100% That is with 3 different cables: 2m (supplied with monitor), 5m "value", 3m Belkin... and the 5m doesn't work at 60Hz. Short of pulling the Strix out from this PC and trying the onboard completely by it's self, I don't know what else to try from my PC's point of view... I'm back e-mailing AOC... Also, someone else on the Tek's forum is having a similar issue...

No real difference with the latest GPU driver... although, I have noticed that the Displayport signal seems to be dropping then coming back online (a bug I have seen on a PC at work using a DP to VGA adapter for a secondary screen). The popping noise seems to tie in with the loss of signal (whether it be caused by the monitor of GPU).

Related / unrelated...? - I had to turn Windows Aero off a while back due to it bring the PC to a real slow down) - I am noticing graphical issues with Firefox at times (one window over the top of another / if the edge overlaps Rainmeter) - Normally the scroll bar flickers to black

Hi, I'm on my second AOC U3477PQU now (just arrived yesterday) and I'm experiencing the same / similar issues... so, instead of sending it back for another replacement, I figure that I should ask if anyone has seen these issues and knows if it is a monitor issue, or something else... before I send it back. 1st monitor (exchanged for a new replacement): - Popping noises / screen cutting off and then back on a couple of seconds later. (sometimes when just turned on / coming out of sleep, other times just randomly) - If the monitor goes to sleep for a few hours, it will not always turn back on. I have to cut the power to it (mains plug, the button next to the power input will not do it) to get the monitor to be detected... - I bought a longer display port cable (5m) which will not work with this display... don't know why. 2nd monitor: - Screen cutting off and then back on a couple of seconds later. (sometimes when just turned on / coming out of sleep, other times just randomly) *seems to be longer to come back on than the 1st monitor* - If the monitor goes to sleep for a few hours, it will not always turn back on. I have to cut the power to it (mains plug, the button next to the power input will not do it) to get the monitor to be detected... - Same longer cable won't work... maybe the cable is crap. I've set DDC/CI to "No" after seeing somewhere that it could be the issue for the sleep issue, doesn't seem to have done anything. I've checked that the monitor is set to Displayport 1.2 System Specs: Motherboard: ASUS Maximus VIII Hero CPU: Intel i7-6700K (not OC'd as of) RAM: 32GB (4x 8GB) Corsair Vengeance LPX GPU: ASUS Strix 980ti Primary monitor: AOC U3477PQU (Connected via Displayport) @60Hz Secondary monitor: Dell / Alienware2310 something or other (Connected via DVI) @120hz OS: Windows 7 (up to date) GPU Diver: 359.06 - just about to update to the 361.43 (will post back if anything changes)

Hi, Nice review... I have just got one of these... just wondering if you've had any issues with it? Currently, mine has two "issues" 1. A popping noise every now and again (screen goes black on some of these) - just raised a call on that. 2. If the PC is left on for a few hours, it forgets that the screen is there... it just detects the 23" secondary screen. Kinda weird... I'll add AOC;s feedback in / when they respond... just wondering if you're still using it and if you'd seen these issues / had work arounds for them

I finally have updated from Vista to Windows 7 for my main rig, and now I've found that Windows Sidebar has been pretty much discontinued due to security issues... I was running a GPU monitor, a CPU monitor, a Network monitor, and other monitoring software (EVGA Precision and Nvidia system monitor). I have had a little look at Rainmaker, but I was wondering what other people are using...

Well, Some 'advancement'... I ended up redoing the PC... BIOS was already up to date, I installed Windows, then the ASUS drivers ONLY from the disk. I downloaded the latest drivers from ASUS's website and used them to update the ones from the driver disk... then used Windows update to get the PC / Windows install up-to-date. Now, I am running all of the correct drivers (inclusive of the Realtek sound driver) & haven't had any crashes / freezes as of yet.

So, a little advancement... I'm not happy about the service / course of events - so I'm partially letting you know of the current status, and partially after some feedback as to what (if anything) I should do next. After uninstalling the Realtek driver and allowing Windows to install generic ones, I have had a lot less freezes... the error has still be there in the Event Log, but not had to forcibly restart the PC. I did have a freeze in GTA IV on the 26th... so, I decided to get in touch with Microsoft to see if they had any comments (ROG forum suggesting that it is a Microsoft / Intel issue). - 1st rep just disconnected after about a couple of minutes (I have the communication). - 2nd rep said that he could fix the issue, but is not under the usual service (or something like that) - i.e. have to pay for a years service subscription... Well, temporary madness descended and I did pay the money and see what he could do. He proceeded to turn everything off in Msconfig, and a few other things, including msdt (support diagnostic tool). The system went unstable - took forever to shut down (I had to manually do it after about 10 mins), he resumed and went back to msdt and ran a few analysis tools, once they had completed, he tried to download something else, it hung for a while, then I realised that the PC had lost network connection and I had to restart the PC. (I do not have the communication due to what he was doing) - 3rd rep told me that the second one had closed the call of as solved... spent about 50 mins doing what appeared to be nothing (or the give the benefit of the doubt, doing it off screen)... then reported that it was sorted. So, after all of that, I am still on the generic sound driver, I have not experienced any freezes, I have only had a couple of instances of the ACPI error occurring - on / around starting the PC... Is it "solved"...? Should I revert back to the Realtek sound driver? Should I complain & attempt to get my money back? Obviously, I do not approve of this being the only fix - should not have to pay to get your PC working, but it may be something to go back to ASUS with and get them to fix the issue / get Microsoft to put a fix out. Thoughts...?

Hey, going to link the ROG thread - as there seems to be a bit more background info there... seems to be a Microsoft / Intel issue with the Z170 boards in general... https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?77522-Maximus-VIII-Hero-Freezeing-%28ACPI-error-%29&p=544243&viewfull=1#post544243 Will keep this updated as the ROG one as best I can...

Looks really good

I did as suggested on the ROG forum; remove the Realtek driver and let Windows install a generic one... no freezes as of yet... So, that is looking to be the issue. Will feed that back to Andy and see what he suggests.

From Andy: "I would like to suggest CMOS resetting your motherboard to be sure that the motherboard is completely restored to defaults and verify once more if the issue persists. Most likely the error described might show an issue with either the IRQ of the motherboard, or bandwith allocation while under stress, even though such issues usually get resolved by BIOS updates, it would be also recommendable to discuss with your retailer regarding assessment of the product and warranty claim if necessary." Reset the CMOS, problem persists... I also tried Memtest 86 - no faults found... A post on the ROG forum suggested removing the ASUS audio driver and letting windows detect and install... so, I shall be trying that next. (I have new headphones on this PC, and there is a bit of a background noise at times when there isn't an audio source playing, so maybe there is something to this...)

As it stands, I've just responded to Andy (the technical support contact). I have updated my BIOS to the revision that you linked... the crashes / system freezes are still continuing. (possibly to a slightly lesser extent, possibly the usage conditions have not stressed the system in the same way). I'm using Wolfenstein: The New Order, as it generated the system freeze a few times in succession yesterday. As for the PSU, it is a brand new EVGA 1000w Supernova - so should be more than ample for the system. I have double checked my settings, and can confirm that everything is set to automatic in the BIOS with regards to any overclocking or suchlike - I've not carried out any tweaks as of yet. Although, another forum member with the same issue has reported that he isn't getting them any more with that new BIOS, so I guess it's along the right lines. http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/460787-maximus-viii-hero-freezeing-acpi-error/ https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?77522-Maximus-VIII-Hero-Freezeing-%28ACPI-error-%29 I have noticed that the Event log does have other entries with the same error - as far as I know these have not resulted in system freezing, only the times it occurs during gaming (I admit that may be more opinion than fact). Product Name: Microsoft Windows Operating System Product Version: 6.1.7600.16385 Event ID: 56 Event Source: Application Popup Locale ID: 2057. General details state "Driver ACPI returned invalid ID for a child device (5)." If that contributes anything of use...

Yeah, still getting the freezes...