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26
Evil Monkey
by Jonathanwashere
Permalink:   (33 comments)
Description

Pictures taken on my iPhone 4, that has no flash so forgive me if the pictures are dark

Really disappointed with this CPU. Could only reach 4466MHz (bus: 203, multiplier 22). Oh well, it's a pretty fantastic CPU anyway, very quick with audio conversion, the main reason why I went with an 8 core actually. I can't wait until when (if?) mantle becomes main stream, the extra cores will help with fps I'm hoping. Saved money on this instead of an 8350.

Cooler: It does it's job well, there's not much space at all between the heat sink and window, but I'm cool with that. It's quite chunky and plugging fans in can be a bit difficult and results in scraped hands and fingers. I would've gone with the hyper 212, but I'm kinda picky, and I think it's used way too much, I like to be different. One of the pins on the fan snapped so it runs at 100% all the time, it's audible but it's my fault, not worrying.

Thermal Paste: Best paste on here, no complaints. It seems to do its job well.

MOBO: I HATE this board. NOTHING but problems... Poor research led me to believe there was a USB 3 header, there isn't. Not my issue with the board. The CPU voltage is locked at 1.44V, very annoying. Solution: reset bios every time I start the PC (the voltage max then is 1.99V). The voltage shown between CPUz and the BIOS are different by about 0.04V, although CPUz does change to the MOBO BIOS when running IBT. The CPU temp is different by about 20 degrees between core temp and the BIOS. Let's not mention extremely hot NB and VRMs... Doesn't match colour scheme but the cold cathodes drown it out.

RAM: From an old build, nothing fancy. Went mental trying to tighten the timings, but I gave up in the end as their simply wasn't enough documentation. Somewhat disappointed that it doesn't reach 1866MHz. (You can see my progress in the pictures). Was given the 2*2GB kit for free, decided to stick it in, doesn't match the colour scheme but the red cold cathodes drown out everything that isn't red.

HDD: Very slow, boot times can often reach 140 seconds, usually 70 though. I have never seen it change from 28 degrees, so that's all good. Had this from an old build, somewhere along the line it got the nickname "Mt. Reliable", don't remember how but at one point it was super unreliable. Edit: SATA connecter snapped and replaced with an SSHD. I soldered a sata connector onto the drive, except it doesn't show up on File Explorer however it does show up in partition recovery software (accidently installed linux onto it which wiped all my partitions). The SSHD is super fast (10 seconds or so) loving it, no more freezing!

GPU: Should've gotten a 270, oh well. Used to have a gt 630, so this is a huge improvement. I think I managed to overclock it well? I know that it comes pre overclocked, but compared to stock clocks I did well? Disappointed that it doesn't have true audio (which I thought it did). It's really quiet and I like it a lot.

Chassis: Very cheap case, will be selling my 270X to buy a Phanteks Primo (replacing 270X with a 290). In a few areas of the case I managed to scrape a bit of the black paint off which made me wince, made me realise it really was a budget case. It does it's job for now, I won't be sad when it goes. Hardly any cable management, I tried as hard as I possibly good to manage cables. Very difficult to get the other side panel back on, in the end it came down to Sellotape, brute force and bowing. Lost a thumb screw so I replaced the ones of the other side panel with ordinary screws.

PSU: My old PSU was one of those 300w hand grenade ones, so it was very loud. It made me spend the extra money for the hybrid fan design, which I'm very impressed by actually. It doesn't spin, so it's silent. And even when it does, it's very quiet (or other things are drowning out the noise?), because of this, I won't be upgrading the PSU unless it dies, I'm going to try my hardest that all future upgrades are below 650w. No CFX or SLI for me...

Windows 8.1: Better than 8, not as good as seven. Running classic shell, rather upset that they got rid of WEI.

WLAN card: Very good card, shame my internet is terrible. Going to replace my 02 wireless box 2 for a 4 or 5, add a booster (insulation in walls cuts off WIFI upstairs) and move my PC upstairs. Of course I'll portforward it too.

Headset: Used to have a pair (quite literally two sets) of Tritton AX 180s, one pair broke and the other is in my draw upstairs. This headset fits well with my colour scheme and it's made by corsair. Loving the corsair software too. It's microphone is probably the best you get for a headset (after that you go for actual mics like the blue snowball). Hell of a lot better than the previously mentioned Trittons.

Monitor: A good upgrade from 768p. Wish it was HDMI though.

Monitor 2 (Acer): It's not as good as my other monitor, but it's excellent for free. My second-uncle (?) gave it to me (Nan's brother). Will have to adjust the colour settings a bit so they're the same, not bothered at the moment really. Buttons are somewhat difficult to use and annoying however.

Speakers: Given to me by the same person. Sound quality is terrible when its at high volumes, but I hardly use them, and when I do, rarely at high volume. Sometime so prefer to use in ears rather than my headset (long gaming sessions make my ears sore), so I plug my in ears into the speakers so I can control tone, and volume on the go rather than pausing the game.

Mouse: Not bad, but not good. Very cheap and I'm only using it till I can afford a trackball (or decent mouse).

Keyboard: The gamepad is quite good but it's difficult to get used to, because of that I've stopped using it. Was given this by my dad, you can't purchase this anymore and it's super old, I want to change it but I can't bring myself to do so, going to wait until it dies and get a mechanical backlit keyboard (Gamdias Hermes looks good).

CD Reader: Does it's job, does what I want it to do.

Cold Cathodes: Brought these ages ago. Would go for NZXT hue next time. They look pink when you look at them normally, but appear red inside the case and in pictures so that's pretty good. I stupidly put the Velcro things on my old case without dusting so they didn't work, should probably take them off now, considering gravity holds them in place. Proper getto switch mounting, it's inside one of the Expansion slots, assuming it's meant for one of the water cooling grommet holes, but getto FTW!

Generic fan: Was given this too, doesn't move much air, not really bothered, it was laying about so I just stuck it in.

http://valid.x86.fr/3qvd72

http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/9pam5/

Planned upgrade: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/user/Jonathanwashere/saved/n6MV3C

Edit: Removed the second GPU, added more RAM, put an SSHD in haven't updated picture but they exist in the PC.

Part List
Details
Date BuiltDec. 9, 2013
AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor
CPU Clock Rate4.47Ghz
CPU Temperature While Idle34.0° C
CPU Temperature Under Load73.0° C
Gigabyte Radeon R9 270X 2GB WINDFORCE Video Card
GPU Core Clock Rate1.18Ghz
GPU Effective Memory Clock Rate6.0GHz
GPU Temperature While Idle33.0° C
GPU Temperature Under Load73.0° C
3DMark 11 Benchmark Results
Extreme Preset ScoreX2671
Performance Preset ScoreP8619
Entry Preset ScoreE11518
Comments
When commenting on a completed build please keep your feedback polite and constructive, particularly if commenting on part choices and possible alternatives.
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Sorted by:
 
 
iThoughtSheWas16 1 point 10 months ago

Why the 270x? The 270 has the same performance only with a lower clock rate. You can overclock it yourself and save some money.

 
 
I_Luv_Cheetos 1 point 10 months ago

As far as ive seen… there's not a lot of people that realize that

 
 
Matryoshka [2 Builds] 2 points 10 months ago

A lot of people don't want to take the small risks and longevity issues that go along with OC'ing.

Anyway, how is the card performing so far in the games you play? I'm planning on getting this version of the 270X.

 
 
SethMatrix 1 point 10 months ago

Those problems don't happen if you don't raise the voltage too much.

 
 
Jonathanwashere [Submitter] [1 Build] 1 point 10 months ago

I couldn't tell you, I haven't had much time and apparently I can't actually play games till the 11th (my b-day)

 
 
Jonathanwashere [Submitter] [1 Build] 1 point 10 months ago

True Audio. The 270 doesn't support it, only the X gpus.

 
 
I_Luv_Cheetos 1 point 10 months ago

I may be mistaken but I believe that only the 260x, 290, and 290x support true audio. Not even the 280x supports it from my understanding

 
 
iSkillzorz 1 point 10 months ago

That's kind of strange. Don't know if that's true but if it is, I don't really get why AMD would do that.

 
 
I_Luv_Cheetos 1 point 10 months ago

Well its something the devs have to program in and being its new technology they probably weren't that worried about it being supported in all of the current gen cards, that way it would sway buyers into getting higher tier cards and make buyers upgrade into next gen if true audio takes off

 
 
LeMonarque [3 Builds] 1 point 10 months ago

I believe it's that way because True Audio is only on the cards with new GPU cores on them. The cards with reused cores from HD 7xxx don't (apparently) have entirely the correct design for it since True Audio is somewhat dependent on GPU output.

 
 
I_Luv_Cheetos 1 point 10 months ago

I thought the same thing but then I realized that the 260X is a 7790 with true audio. But maybe it is a modified GPU in comparison to the 7790

 
 
Jonathanwashere [Submitter] [1 Build] 1 point 10 months ago

I just googled it. Damn, I should have researched that.

 
 
jaredt [1 Build] 1 point 10 months ago

You got an 8320 to 4.7 on air?! Holy $#!7 man! Nice job! I didn't think that was even possible on water because they are lower binned 8350's.

 
 
I_Luv_Cheetos 1 point 10 months ago

I'm pretty sure he can push it much farther than that, I've read of people having 8320s at 4.7 with a hyper 212

 
 
Jonathanwashere [Submitter] [1 Build] 1 point 10 months ago

5ghz @45 degrees C. If I reset the CMOS then access the BIOS I can get my CPU voltage from 0.9 to 1.9, however after restarting the PC, the maximum cpu voltage drops down to 1.449, and the PC doesn't boot. Only 1.55 is stable.

 
 
I_Luv_Cheetos 1 point 10 months ago

I had to read this about 5 times to figure out what this said, I should really lay off the computer for awhile...

Anyways, that seems pretty good, that's weird about it dropping the max CPU voltage after restart though.

 
 
Zeus [1 Build] 1 point 10 months ago

Nice Build! Cable management could use a little work however

 
 
Jonathanwashere [Submitter] [1 Build] 1 point 10 months ago

Yeah , it could but the fan doesn't move enough air to make a slight difference.

 
 
AmamMcMam [1 Build] 1 point 9 months ago

Hey dude, that looks amazing. I really like the case. Do you think theres enough space for a H100i (Watercooler) to fit in at the top?

Also i'm pretty much using the same components as yours.

 
 
Jonathanwashere [Submitter] [1 Build] 1 point 9 months ago

Nope, sorry. I could BARELY fit my motherboard in as it is. As well the case only has room for a single 120mm Radiator at the top so you'd want to go for a h80i, even then I don't think the metal is strong enough to support it.

 
 
AmamMcMam [1 Build] 1 point 9 months ago

Yeah I wrote that comment before noticing it only had support for a 120mm fan.

 
 
GamerNick98 [1 Build] 1 point 9 months ago

that cable management is horrid my non modular psu is better looking

 
 
Jonathanwashere [Submitter] [1 Build] 1 point 9 months ago

I see your lack of reading disturbing. Anyway I've improved the management. Waiting till I can get a Pahtom 530. This case has VERY LITTLE management as is.

 
 
GeorgeUnderdown 1 point 6 months ago

Says Cooler Master K380 ATX Mid Tower Case and Phanteks PH-TC12DX_RD 68.5 CFM CPU Cooler are not compatible?

 
 
Jonathanwashere [Submitter] [1 Build] 1 point 6 months ago

It is a REALLY tight fit but it works

 
 
GeorgeUnderdown 1 point 6 months ago

I'm a noob, would this work? Like fit and everything? http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/3yw3s

 
 
Jonathanwashere [Submitter] [1 Build] 1 point 6 months ago

I really wouldn't recommend making a build similar to mine. I made some terrible part choices. If you want some recommendations inbox me :)

 
 
daes79 [3 Builds] 0 points 10 months ago

That is the biggest cooler I've ever seen

 
 
jru732 2 points 10 months ago

You haven't seen many coolers then. There are many that are literally twice as large and larger.

 
 
scalise [1 Build] 0 points 10 months ago

You've clearly never seen a Phanteks PH-TC14PE or Noctua NH-D14.

Literally twice the size of the one in this build.

 
 
appleroxinhouston 1 point 10 months ago

or a Cooler Master V10

 
 
Jonathanwashere [Submitter] [1 Build] 0 points 10 months ago

Holy shizz that's big

 
 
appleroxinhouston 2 points 10 months ago

Ever seen two of em in a workstation? ;)