Greetings :)

My health isn't as great as it could be so gonna do things differently this year.

Not planning on adding any more rigs......have added an AMD quad to the mix, that's my lot.

If I manage to keep my job (always a question mark) I intend to spend some time and money on ME.

I hope to replace my ancient A/V set up, that I have not used for years anyway.....with a cheap-ish A/V amp and treat myself to a 50" tv so I can enjoy the world cup to it's full.

Given my family health history I dunno how many world cups I got left in me so I am determined to make the most of the 2010 tournament. :)

Already put in a two week holiday request for June so I can watch all the early round games.

If England progress (lol) I will book time off as and when for latter stage games.

Looking forward to it.

So, sorry, no new rigs from me.

But I have my fair share of hardware working away and frankly have no room for more.

Keep a crunching.

:) crunch crunch crunch

For anyone interested this is what I have working away.

3 stock Q6600's.......Dell so no overclocking.
1 Q6600 at about 3.2.
1 i7 920 @ 3.8.
1 X11 620 Quad @2.8.......will clock it more when time permits.
1 Allendale core 2 6300 @3.325.
1 X2 3800......more or less stock (media rig).
1 X2 3800 @2.5 (not on very often-Charlotte's rig).
1 X2 3800..... (server).....only on when needed.

The other stuff is pretty much retired/parts bin material.

36 cores and 2 GPU's is enough..........though I would like a Zeon crunch

Was considering this

and

This

and

These

Wifey not pleased and still to justify it to myself but I will get there lol.
I spend ALL my time on computers and need to learn to relax once in a while.


Does the above hardware look like a decent choice?

Suggested alternatives?

Hi-fi and A/V was my thing before I discovered crunching......now I am about a decade out of touch...time for a voyage of rediscovery.

Had a HD DVD/Blu ray drive for two years and not watched a movie yet lol.
(Got X-men 2 blu-ray in the post yesterday.....must give it a whirl).

Thats a lotta cores... :blink:


I don't recall coming across much about those speakers when I was researching a few months ago to upgrade my A/V setup. On the Onkyo, most people seem to be of the opinion that you can cook an egg on them...my brother found that to be true of his, and ended up picking up Antec's AV cooler in fear of it overheating. The specs on it look good though - lots of inputs, upscaling. Good on the inputs as the TV doesn't seem to have very many.


I tend to lean towards Pioneer these days - got a good deal on one of these when they were phasing them out for newer models last year, with speakers from the Infinity Primus line.


With TV's - there's the Plasma vs LCD thing. Plasma tends to have better picture and price, while LCD runs cooler, uses less electricity, and is usually lighter in case that makes a difference. In the past, they've said LCD has longer lifespan then Plasma, but I've heard that they've improved on that.


Tend to do most of my research at avsforum.com if you need a spot to dig around.

Hi mousie :)

For the last 2 years I have had a 37" lcd tv and I have always thought the plasma one I had prior to that was much better, a warmer, more natural image.

Yes, I have also read of the Onkyo getting warm but I would only have it on when in use, not 24 hours a day.....and the girls are satisfied with the plain old tv output sound.

Actually I may hold fire on the amp/speakers.

Last night I fired up my old Logitech powered speakers and for a/v use they sounded pretty good.

No point me spending money for the sake of it.

Still have my old Kenwood DD receiver and always enjoyed that in the past, back in Laserdisc days :lol: ........all it really lacks is digital connections/HDMI.

But it is nice to buy something new once in a while :)

TV doesn't really need lots of inputs......right now most entertainment sources go through my desktops HDMI, including blu ray so 2 HDMI's at tv end should be fine.

Tried Pioneer many years ago and didn't like their sound.....too bright and clinical to my ears.

My alternative to Onkyo would probably be Denon.

One fun aspect of my last build was being able to recycle one of my old Thermalright XP120's.

May not be te best cooler these days but great for a low profile/low noise build :)

All depends on how you're planning on using it then. :) In my case, I run everything into the receiver for full surround.

recycling is good... :D

Indeed..........got another 2 and an XP90 but NO BUILDS lol!!!

Honest!!! :unsure: :lol: crunch angel

10 rigs and he's :unsure: if he's done for now... :lol:

Ouch..........that's for sure.

Just checked my bank accounts.........

minus £8000 :blink:

2010 is gonna have to be the year of frugal living.

Hopefully if I work hard over the next few months and make a dent in the above I can treat myself to a new tv for the world cup. :unsure:

I got the 46" Toshiba REGZA.

I am happy with it.

Before the world cup I bought a 50" Panasonic S10.
Makes for a nice monitor :)

I hope the wife appreciates the absolute necessity of the big screen for the World Cup. :lol:

She loves it.....she lives on the Playstation :blink:

heh

Just bought a new PS3 game, myself.

big waste of time really.

Never ever been into gaming..........rather play with hardware and crunch.
Would rather have a good book than a video game. :)

Sounds like a better way, Cap.