DaftBehemoth

It was the Prime95 issue. I'm sitting under 80C at 4.7 @ 1.3v with Aida64 (I haven't gotten the OC dialed in yet, that's just what it's sitting at for now ). I managed to forget about the reports of Prime95 issues since I've been on Sandy for so long lol From what I can tell, it's actually the XPower that comes with the die guard, but that's exactly what I was looking for. Hopefully they'll start offering it as a stand alone product for a few bucks. For now I think I'll go with the Die > Coollabs Liquid Ultra > IHS > NT-H1 > Waterblock idea. Don't worry, that's what I assumed Thanks for all the input guys! You're all very helpful as usual.

Thanks for the aida64 and intel burn test tip. I don't get the crazy temp spikes in either of those programs even at 1.3v. I've also seen speculations that while the new TIM is definitely better, it only seems to be about 5C better at the same voltage and clock as what was on the 4770K. After testing with Aida64 and Intel Burn Test, I'm feeling less disappointed with my temps than before so I think I'm leaning toward your recommendation now Is there something about the Z97 MPower that is better for naked CPUs than the Z87 version? I'm currently running with the Z87 and after the effort I've put into it, I'd like to keep it lol. See here: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/178345-msi-mpower-plastidip/#entry2394630

Hey guys! I recently picked up an i7-4790K and I'm wondering if anyone has any tips for delidding and mounting waterblocks directly to the core of the CPU and ditching the IHS. I know it's possible, but I'm just not sure about being able to make proper contact from block to die and I'm not sure how the hold down plate will work without the IHS. I'd want to use my XSPC Raystorm block and the NT-H1 I currently have. I've only managed to find one other person who has done this same thing with his 4770K and a Raystorm block, but that doesn't exactly give me full confidence . I can handle the delidding itself, but I'd really rather ditch the IHS if I can. I should also mention that while running Prime95 (small fft) at 1.15v I'm getting about 75C and it skyrockets to 97-100 at 1.25v... I'm fairly confident this is a IHS/ intel thermal compound issue as my cooling should be more than adequate... What do you guys think? I'm not sure if this belongs in CPUs or Liquid cooling as it's a little of both.

To be honest, I couldn't be bothered to install the board twice, so I just went with what people were saying on forums about heatsink painting. The OC3D consensus seems to be that it only slightly lowers temperatures, oddly enough, so I figured that I should be fine. Most of what I painted wasn't functional anyway (surprisingly little of these heatsinks' surface area seems to actually serve a purpose lol). But here's my temps after the fact, and I seem to be doing fine. Thanks! The monitor bezel idea sounds great. I might actually look into that... and I mostly agree with not needing much masking as well so long as you watch for over spray along the bottoms of your heatsinks. I might think about spraying the logo the next time I need to remove my board as well That sounds awesome! I have a friend who'd probably want to see some pictures

I don't hate it as much as I expected (the yellow logo), but I did originally try to replace the yellow plastic behind the logo... but it's held in with a tiny screw that WILL NOT MOVE. I tried my best lol. Thanks!

I felt that it was time for my 2600K to be retired and decided to pick up a 4790K and some faster RAM (because reasons), but I ran into a bit of an issue with socket 1150 mobo offerings... everyone stopped making good blue and black boards. This, of course, was unacceptable because everyone buys motherboards for the looks right? .... right? After looking through a few notable options and only finding a billion black and red options and some ugly new color choices (I'm looking at you, Asus), I decided it was time to paint. I opted for the MSI MPower boards since I've always liked their offerings and went with the Z87 option as it seemed to be the easiest to paint (and the most attractively designed, in my opinion). As for the paint selection, I recently happened upon Plastidip (which I'm completely convinced is a 50/50 mix of rubber and magic) and figured it would suit my needs nicely. I double checked the manufacturer's website to make sure it was safe up to Holy Balls Celsius and continued along my merry way. The results are after two coats of white plastidip as a primer and four coats of Blaze Blue. I started off with the RAM as it was by far the easiest. And yes, I picked up the red Vengeance 2400 simply because it was cheaper (I'm painting anyway so it'll be fine... maybe). Anyway, the colored bits pop off easily which is convenient and the labels peel off cleanly (thanks Corsair!) And here's the MPower in all its not blue glory. After removing the chipset heatsink and masking everything else carefully.... FAIL. The chipset heatsink turned out great, but peeling away the masking on the rest peeled some of the plastidip with it... since it's made to do that. I learned that this is a great time to take a very sharp X-Acto knife around the edge of your masking to make sure it peels off clean. This did give me the chance to test whether or not Plastidip lives up to its claims of hassle free removal and I'm happy to say that it worked fabulously. After picking away at an edge for a second, I was able to peel off the rest of the paint in a single, rubbery strip. At this point, I also decided to remove the VRM heatisnk as well just to make things easier. I also took a screwdriver and popped the top layer of metal off of it. to get it out of the way for easier masking. It turned out to be held on with some sort of double sided adhesive. Who knew? That seemed to have done the trick and I'm quite happy with the results! And just for good measure, a before and after shot of the whole build! i7-2600K, MSI Z68A-GD80, 4x4GB Corsair Vengeance 1600 i7-4790K, MSI MPower MAX Z87 AC, 2x8GB Corsair Vengeance Pro 2400 Thanks for checking it out and I hope you guys have some fun with Plastidip in the future. I'm somewhat amazed with the stuff and I can see myself using it again in the future for sure. It's nice to be able to go back and remove your mistakes if need be.

RIGHT! Browsed over that like an idiot.

Edit: Never mind. I'm stupid.

Might I ask how you ended up with a 32-bit OS on such a monster machine?

Logitech can pretty much always be trusted with their lower end mice, but I would just recommend anything that you find to be comfortable and within your price range. I'm also an advocate of wired mice in all situations. Replacing mouse batteries is annoying. If it needs to be portable, just use a zip tie to bundle up the excess wire

I have this one in my work PC right now. Stays completely silent at all times http://www.amazon.com/MSI-Computer-Corp-N770-2GD5/dp/B00CZ58WUI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403040303&sr=8-1&keywords=msi+770

I usually upgrade some component of my computer biannually. Last year I went for custom liquid cooling and a pair of 670's (very early in the year). Picked up some SSDs for RAID and a G-Sync Asus VG248QE this year. I generally resell parts to friends to keep the money flowing

Honestly this is all personal preference. Pick a keyboard from a store with a good return policy and try it out. If it's not quite to your liking, return it and select one with a different switch. Of the reds, browns, and blues I've tried, I have always preferred the blues though

I think your best bet is to just buy an LED RAM fan. I don't believe there are any options for after market LED RAM heat spreaders.

This. The actual performance difference is pretty much intangible.

No thanks...

I would say it is. I'm not terribly picky about playing racing games on a controller versus a keyboard though. The test area that lets you play with the physics engine is amazingly fun

My favorite feature has to be the beautiful brushed gunmetal finish finish on the phone. It's so pretty!

Is the Klipsch Promedia 2.1 going to be in the review line up? I HIGHLY doubt there's going to be anything that will give you better bang for the buck

Put simply, the more the better. More power phases means that there is more power available to the processor allowing more stability under heavy loads or overclocks

This isn't a general consumer grade product. It's for the enthusiasts with really good jobs who want something overkill. There will be new, reasonably priced Nvidia cards in the coming months. It's only crazy to you because you are not in the demographic that they are marketing to.

Vacuum your house and break out the Endust. You have to keep more than just your computer clean to get rid of the problem.

I actually really enjoyed your review of Trine, Luke. It was well written and well spoken and I think you brought up some interesting points about the game (as a person who has already played it). As for the toy channel idea, while I did enjoy it (particularly the jab at Curt Cobain), I don't find it being quite as useful to me in the long run as I rarely spend money toys and collectibles. All in all, I would sub either channel as I generally enjoy hearing the Linus Media Groups opinions on tech, games, and other random mcguffins

Eh... I like the new controller mostly, but the LB and RB buttons are in an awkward place for my index fingers. I've been using my USB MW2 360 controller for years and I don't think it's going to change any time soon lol.

I agree with what others have said. Caution is your best defense. I don't run protection simply because I don't expose myself to viruses... I do run a scan from either Malwarebytes, Avast, or Microsoft Security Essentials from time to time (and then uninstall) just to make sure, but since I always verify things before downloading (or simply use trustworthy sites) I've never had any one of them show an infection. Following this method, I haven't had a virus since I ran Windows XP... a long time ago.