Another Hardware Review: The Intel Core2Duo E6750
Intel C2D E6750 2.66GHz w/Fan (Retail)
Hey guys, Icarus here again and again, and again… jeez I can’t keep track… urgh w/e. I’m here today w/ another component review, today with my processor, the Intel Core2Duo E6750.
I gotta tell ya, this is one AWESOME processor. One of the best processors I’ve ever used. Mine is running @3.2GHz w/ no problems for the past 6 months. I used Arctic Silver5 paste, along w/ my trusty ZeroTherm CPU HSF and Cooler, getting my temps usually around ~30 degrees. That’s great for a processor that’s overclocked.
Now, this processor will especially be useful when you’re playing games. Core2Duos, in general, are a bit better than quad core processors in games. In modern games, most games use maybe up to 2 cores. In a Core2Duo, both cores are being utilized to its fullest, while a quad core only uses 2 cores, and the other 2 sit there idle or do some other program. So, which one will be a bit faster in games? The Core2Duo.
The Core2Duos are also awesome overclockers. Especially w/ the 1333FSB on this baby, you can overclock it to very high speeds and the processor’ll still last you for a pretty long time. If you’re looking for a mid- or even low-range workstation build, and you have stability and speed in mind, this processor should be on your list, to say the least. I’m not kidding, one of the BEST processors I’ve put my hands on.
So, that’s all for now. If you have any questions, feel free to post a comment! Also, since I just reviewed a processor, I will be talking about a controversial issue: Intel vs. AMD. Which one is better? At what situations?
See you all later. Hope you enjoy my reviews 
Icarus
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Hardware Review: Patriot Extreme Performance 2×1GB DDR2 800(PC6400) Dual Channel RAM
Patriot 1024MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz
Hey guys, Icarus here again, with another Hardware review. As you see in the picture above, that’s the RAM I use: The Patriot 2×1GB DDR2 800 Dual-Channel RAM.
When I bought this RAM, it was on a HUGE rebate(I’m not kidding… like in the $40 range after rebates), and it was a great deal. It’s still a great deal if you don’t trust rebates. This RAM, w/ 5-5-5-12 timings, Dual-Channel, and 2GB total, is one of the best RAM w/ one of the best price-to-performance ratio out there. I have 2GB in my machine right now, running at stock speeds and stock timings, and it is just GREAT. No lag whatsoever even when I multitask(i.e. 4 windows, 4 programs, couple games, etc.). I haven’t had a single problem w/ this RAM since I built this computer 7 months ago. For 2GB, DDR2 800, and 5-5-5-12 timings, it’s a deal you can’t miss. It’s also in the low and mid-range builds I made up for you guys… that’s how awesome and stable this RAM is
Anyways, any questions so far on my specific components? Any comments? Just make a comment and I’ll answer back. See you later!
Icarus
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Reply to Pchwnerd, and another Hardware Review
Ok, upon request of Pchwnerd, I will answer his comment. He asked for a part list “if he had 5k to spend on a gaming computer”.
Well… with 5k, you can get the BEST OF THE BEST(and I mean it): QX9650 CPU, water cooling, top-of-the-line GPUs, everything in tip-top level. But then, again… what would you do w/ all that power? Play Call of Duty 4 @ 90FPS? Well, lemme tell ya: You can’t see the difference past ~40-45FPS. So, what’s that extra 45-50FPS for? Nothing, just sits there as extra power. Now, you really shouldn’t base your build on your BUDGET; you should base your build on what you need, what games you’re going to play, what monitor size you have, and what resolution you’re going to use the monitor at. Those 3 questions are three of the most important questions you have to ask yourself when building an awesome gaming computer. Pchwnerd, if you can tell me the answers to your question, and the maximum budget, I will happily make a list of components for you. Just holler, and I’ll gladly make a list for you.
Anyways, I’m going to review another component of my computer: the motherboard.
EVGA nForce 680i SLI Motherboard
The motherboard I have is the EVGA nVidia 680i T1 SLI Motherboard. Now, this is one slick and awesome motherboard. The motherboard itself looks awesome w/ its green nVidia and EVGA logos, and the PCI slots and everything else. It even has an onboard reset button. It came w/ 2 SATA cables, a northbridge fan, a manual, IDE cable, and the board itself. This board also has 3 PCIe slots(1 runs in PCIe x8), 2 PCI slots, and a PCIex1 slot.
Now, this is an awesome motherboard when it comes to overclocking. With my E6550, I overclocked easily and w/ no problems to 3.0 GHz. It hasn’t presented a single problem in the last 6 months, and it’s still running as stable as a… urgh I don’t know what to say :p If I were you in the market for an awesome SLI motherboard w/ 2 GPUs to start with, I would’ve gotten this motherboard. However, right now, I wouldn’t suggest it. It seems like Intel and nVidia are not very good pals right now, and although the 680i chipset was supposed to support all the new 45nm Dual and Quad Core CPUs, they only support the Dual Penryn CPUs now. So there goes your upgrade path. Poof.
Well, that’s it for now. Next post: Hardware Review of… well that’s for you to see in my next post 
Icarus
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My Hardware Review: Antec P180B Mid-Tower Case
All right, so I promised some reviews of my own computer components, so here’s the first one: The Antec P180B Mid-Tower Case.
This case looks fairly sleek, with a shiny finish on the outside. It’s pretty heavy, so wouldn’t recommend it for people who need to move their machines around, or have back problems. The main reason I bought this case was because of how quiet it was: with 1 120mm fan up top, another 120mm fan on the back, and a 120mm fan on the bottom compartment, it’s very quiet even if these fans are set on medium. Now, there are 3 other places where you can put 120mm fans: 1 at the front of the top compartment, 1 at the front of the bottom compartment, and another one on the hard-drive rack on the top compartment.
This case has 4 external drive bays, 1 floppy drive bay, and 6 hard-drive spaces. This case also, interestingly, is separated into 2 separate compartments, as I have used those terms in the previous paragraph. Now, what’s cool about this is that the PSU and the bottom hard-drive cage gets its own bottom compartment, so it’s great for cooling. The top compartment, which includes the external drive bays, 2 hard-drive spaces, and the motherboard tray is fairly roomy. The motherboard tray cannot be detached from the case, but you can store unneeded cords from the PSU behind the motherboard tray.
Now another feature of this case comes with pros and a small con. I’ll start with the pros first because I wanna be a positive guy. The cords from the PSU come through a hole between the top and bottom compartment, and the hole size can be adjusted to your needs so that the cords are more organized and clumped closer together. This makes it great when you try to hide your cables for efficient air-cooling. However, this comes with a small, possible con.
When I built my machine, I used a CoolerMaster 650W PSU. I hid all the unneeded power cords behind the motherboard tray, and went on happily plugging power into my machine to fire it up. When I got to my CPU power cord, it couldn’t reach the CPU power plug because it was up at the top of the motherboard, and this case mounts its PSU at the bottom of the case. Small con, small possibility. Generally, it doesn’t happen. Just make sure your PSU power cord for the CPU is long enough.
Here’s another small con: if you have a long GPU, like the 8800GTX, you’ll have to take out the hard drive cage of the top compartment, or else the GTX won’t fit.
Well, its current price is floating ~$100-120. Right now, since there are cheaper cases out there, I wouldn’t really suggest it. However, if you have some money that you’d want to spend on a quiet case w/ great airflow, this should be on your list.
That’s all for now, see you all later! Next post: Continuation of hardware review
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Such Thing as a “High-End” Workstation?
Hey guys, Icarus here once again. Today I’m gonna tell you the answer to this question: Is there such thing as a “High-End” Work-station?
Well, sure there is. It’s like asking a car maniac if there’s a high-end car. He’ll list down names: Ferrari, Corvette, Mercedes, BMW, Cadillac, Lexus, and others that I’m not very familiar with. Well, there’s one critical difference between a high-end car and a high-end machine: the PHYSICAL difference on a computer won’t show as much as a high-end car.
Now, what I mean by physical difference, is namely speed and stability. If you have a stable machine, it’s stable. Should be pretty fast, gives you the power to multitask, and all that good stuff. Well, let’s say you put in the most expensive computer hardware possible, and you boot the computer? Will you see a large physical performance? Maybe, in numbers. If you run a benchmark on a high-end machine and compare the score to that of a mid or low budget machine, you’ll definitely see a difference, ONLY IN NUMBERS. If you actually compare a high-end work-station machine w/ a mid range, you won’t see much physical performance difference. Now, will that small physical performance increase justify the difference in the budget($1000 compared to 1700 and above)? No, it won’t be justified. Maybe you can put in 2 more gigs of RAM, a 64-bit Operating System(OS), get larger monitors, get speakers if you need it, a better keyboard w/ multi-function keys. But you can do all that on a mid-range computer, maybe even on a low-range work-station. So there’s my point: there isn’t really a point in going “high-end” on a workstation.
For my next post: Actual reviews of the computer hardware I use, and where you can save money. See ya later!
Icarus
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