Hiya

[JCLW]

Well, I guess this makes me the 33rd user:




--------

I started out participating in forums around the year 2000, over at 2cpu.com. You can also find me over at OCforums, Rage3D, DriverHeaven, and Beyond3D.

I currently run two systems:

Workstation:
- i830D
- Asus P5WD2-P
- 2x 512MB Corsair Value RAM
- X800XL
- 20" Sony Trinitron (from 1994)
- 4x 74G Raptors RAID 0
- Lite-On SOHD-16P9S DVD-ROM w/speed hacked firmware
- Plextor PX-716A
- 600W Enermax P/S
- Antec Sonata case


I'm currently working on a custom watercooling setup for it.

File Server:
- i330J
- Asus P5GDC
- 2x 512MB Corsair Value RAM
- X700pro
- 80GB Seagate 7200.7 (OS & Apps)
- Promise S150 SX4 w/256MB PC133 ECC CL2 cache module
- 4x 200GB Seagate 7200.7 RAID 5
- Cheapo DVD-ROM
- 450W Silverstone P/S
- Antec Sonta case


Hardcopy is handled by a LaserJet 1320N, connected via ethernet.

I've got 4/1 DSL into a Linksys WRT54G router that I share with the people downstairs, and all my stuff is connected via a Linksys gigabit switch.

I tend to favour the intel & ATi side of things. I love the AMD processors but I've had bad luck with all the chipsets. And as for ATi, well... I live in Toronto so...

But I try not to be too biased when I give suggestions.

--------

Other hobbies include:

- Photography. I've got a Canon 10D with two lenses; the 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5, and the image stabilized 75-300mm f/4-5.6.
- Biking. I've got a 2005 RockHopper Comp Disc. I use it mostly for commuting.
- Boating. Especially sailing. Large sailboats (aka "Tallships"). I was a Sail Training Vessel Captain for 10 years.
- Engines. Mainly marine diesels. Big Cats, small Kubotas, and everything in between.

I currently work as a Marine Engineer.

Anyways, that's about it for me I think.

Thanks to gvblake22 for inviting me over.

[JCLW]

I better get my post count up a little, being a "Hardware Virgin" at my age is rough.

So here's a few more pictures:


Cat C18. 18 litres. This one is an "A" rating, 450hp @1800rpm continuous. With two turbos they'll make 1000hp @2300rpm, but not for very long.


Cat 3306 oops. Pre-heating and/or pre-lubing would probably have prevented that.


Yeah. Some real sailing. Taken on a 120' square tops'l schooner I was driving.


Computers and boats. Yum.


Toronto from the Island lagoons.

[sbohdan]

yeehaa mate :!: welcome from way colder ottawa :lol:
it looks like there is 4 of us from canada. beware yankees - we might take over soon :lol: :lol:

welcome to our little (growing) forum :mrgreen:
nice hobbies you got there, I'm especially fond of sailing. I just love sailing :D

[Capper]

Yes....I guess we are the offical hardware site of the "Great White North".......maybe we'lll nickname you guys the McKenzie Bros.
Welcome to the forums JCLW, as to your experience with Intel and ATI, its always good to get another perspective, so feel free to pitch in whenever you want and share you point of view

[gvblake22]

Awesome pics man!
Good to see you over in this part of cyber space ;)

What do you think of that Thermaltake Sonic Tower heatsink?
And I see you're a big fan of the Sonata case. You'll fit right in here :D

[Capper]

Yeah, I grew up sailing too, though not on the ocean. We had a 38ft (?) Catalina, lot of fun.
As to the forums..... we are growing pretty rapidly, definitely beyond my expectations. Everyone needs to keep spreading the word so more people will join up and contribute.... but I'm very happy with the very good core of people we're starting out with

[JCLW]

sbohdan: Yeah, this winter has been crap. It scares me when I hear everyone (including the media) going around saying "Wow, what a great winter...". Something is seriously wrong with the weather/planet. I have to do some welding on the outside on a boat, so normally I'd just wait for the water to freeze and jump over the side to do it. Nice and stable plus the boat isn't moving differently. Now it looks like I'm going to have to drag a floating dock over or build some kind of hanging scaffolding to do it.

What kind of boats do you sail? Around Ottawa?

Capper: Thanks for the welcome. My g/fs parents just got a Hunter 38. It's pretty sweet. After all my travels my favourite place to sail is still the Great Lakes.

gvblake22: The Sonic Tower.... Hmmm... The jury (my jury at least) is still out on that one. The setup you see above keeps my 830D cool at stock speeds, except when both processors start to ramp up. Then I have to turn on a fan I keep under my desk and blow air into the case/over the heatsink. Being a heatpipe design, it might work better in a desktop or rackmount case but that depends what the inside of the heatpipes looks like and how they are designed to wick. I suppose I could flip the case on its side to check.

A lot of the problem seems to be that the Sonic Tower has problems moving the heat #1: from the base to the heatpipes and #2: from the heatpipes to the fins. Even with a 30" box fan running full out (kind of like huricane force inside the case) it won't keep my 830D cool when I really start to overclock it (3.75ghz+). The fins are nice and cool, but the base is over 70C. Probably because everything is just pressed together:

I don't even think that last fin is touching the lower two heatpipes. It would probably work much better if it were all soldered together, but that would make it much more expensive.

Compare that to a Zalman, where all the fins are part of the base:

You can see how the fins actually make up the base.

So I'd say that overall Sonic Tower is an OK design, but the one I have has build quality issues. I'm not sure if they all do, but I'm not going to buy a 2nd to see. For a low power processor (Dothan/Celeron/Sempron) I think it would work well, but once you get up to heat producing monster like the 830D, you might as well use something less exotic (and cheaper) like the Hyper 48, XP-90/120, Ninja, or even a Zalman.

And yeah, I love the Sonata cases.

edit: sp

[gvblake22]

AAHHH, I see, thanks for the pics!
That last heatpipe really doesn't look like it touches the fins! Way to go Tt :roll:
That is always my worry with the heatpipes... That the fins don't securely attach to the heatpipes in order to efficiently draw the heat. That's why I always feel better about heatsinks that have a combination heatpipes and fins soldered to the base (like the XP-90). I am very interested in the Ninja though, so I think that might be my next heatsink purchase. Especially seeing as the next case I plan on using will have the motherboard in a flat horizontal position so the heatpipes will point straight up in the air (like you mentioned).

[JCLW]

If it were all copper I'd just throw it in a solder bath and lap the base afterwards. But yeah. Soon I'll hopefully be swapping it out for a water block anyways.

[sbohdan]

Originally Posted by JCLW

What kind of boats do you sail? Around Ottawa?

well there is a lot of sails on the ottawa river :lol: but I also travel to europe at least once a year (usually sommer) and when I visit my father (he lives in sweden on an island, which is the second bigest in europe), all we do is sailing. we also go out to the sea through series of canals :P

as for the sonic tower: not just the bottom but also the middle heatpipe issn't touching, which must be a manufacturing flaw. I would suggest to RMA it.

I have an asus starice and when I touch the fins at full load, they are hot. :

http://www.pccyber.ca/scrItem.asp?pr...roduct_id=4606