Cooling Goodness

Recently, I have been noticing that the CPU temperature on my PC has been getting higher and higher.  According to the hardware monitoring software that came with my motherboard, ASUS Probe, the CPU temperature has consistently been 60 degrees C and above.  The threshold setting in the software is 60 degrees, so it is always alarming.  It was reaching these temperatures without really doing anything, just sitting idle.  I decided it was time for a new CPU cooler to replace the standard Intel cooler that came with my Core 2 Duo E6400.  I ended up with a Scythe Kabuto from PC Case Gear (pictured below).

The first thing I noticed about the Kabuto was the size of it.  Compared to the Intel cooler, it was huge!  However, featuring huge fins and cooper heat pipes for heat dissipation and a 120mm fan, it does a great job at keeping my CPU cool.  Tonight as I have used the computer, it has been hovering around the 30 degree mark, which is a great improvement from before.  I don't think the stock cooler was all that bad, but I believe the thermal paste/grease that is applied between the top of the CPU and the bottom of the heatsink, had probably lost its effectiveness and was one of the causes of the overheating I was experiencing.

Here are some photos that show the difference in the size of the coolers and the space taken inside the case.

Side by side

Intel cooler installed

 Kybuto Installed

The Kabuto is secured to the motherboard using the same "Push Pin" system that is used for the Intel coolers.  There is a bracket that screws to the bottom of the cooler with the push pins attached.  I really don't like using this "Push Pin" system, because it sounds like the motherboard is about to crack when you put pressure on the pins to secure them.  Due to the size of the cooler, I had to remove the power supply from the case to allow room for my hand to reach in and push the pins into place to secure the cooler.  Once secured, I then looked at the gap between the top of the case and the cooler where the PSU had to fit to go back into the case.  There wasn't much room there!  It was a tight squeeze, but I just managed to get the PSU back into the case.

Once fired up, the fan on the cooler is quiet, probably more so than the stock Intel cooler.  It has been spinning at around 675 RPM for most of the time.

I'm impressed with the Scythe Kabuto CPU Cooler.  I don't overclock my PC, so I don't require huge cooling, but this is sure doing a great job so far.

Here is an artsy shot, just to show off the heat pipe design :-)

Windows 7

Recently Microsoft released the Beta version of Windows 7, the next Windows operating system. I got my hands on a copy of said operating system and last night installed it on one of my machines. The PC in question is one that I have recently built up to use for "playing" and studying for Microsoft certifications. It has 4GB RAM, 1TB HDD, Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 and GeForce 9500GT. I plan to run up numerous virtual machines on this PC as I study for the above mentions Microsoft certifications.

So, I installed Windows 7. The install was very smooth, there were no problems at all. It looks pretty much the same as the install process for Windows Vista. Afterwards, I was left with some unknown devices, but I was able to quickly and easily install the drivers for these devices from the disk that came with my motherboard. Boot time is very quick.... a lot quicker that Vista on the same PC.

I have only used it briefly as yet, but I must say that it ran flawlessly (this may have to do with the amount of RAM and the speed of my CPU). I had a bit of a look around and the interface and all the settings are very similar to what was in Windows Vista. The taskbar is different and there are icons for Internet Explorer, Windows Explorer and Media Player that are like the "Quick Launch" toolbar in previous versions of Windows. However, when you open one of these programs, the icon also doubles as the taskbar button for that application, so when you click on it again you get your already opened window. Other applications that are opened get similar looking icons in the taskbar, which then makes it look like there are more icons in your quick launch. If you have an application open, the icon in the taskbar gets a box outlines around it that seems to indicate that the program is running, and when you hover the mouse over the icon, a preview window pops up with an image of what is in the application currently. It is a bit hard to explain, but I will post up some screen shots for those who are interested sometime in the next week when I get more time to explore.

Another thing I have noticed is the absence of the Windows Sidebar that was introduced in Vista. Instead, you can still have your "gadgets", like the clock, CPU meter, Slide show etc, straight on the desktop, and not in the Sidebar.

Internet Explorer 8 is also included in Windows 7. I used it a bit last night and it has some new "interesting" features that I have yet to completely use and understand. Being a Firefox user, I'm sure that it will take a lot of convincing for me to go back to using IE. Also included is Media Player 12. This look rather different, and I don't really like the new look/design of it, so I hope it is a work in progress that will be changed shortly.

Now I know that this is beta software, and there is likely to be bit and pieces that don't function or are missing all together, but still I'm impressed with what I see. I will continue to use Windows 7 and see what I think as I get used to it more. So far I'm liking what I see. I just hope that Microsoft don't screw it up between now and the release to market which is supposedly sometime next year.

Monitor Update 2

Continuing from my previous post, I have now found the time to replace the video card in my computer to see if this was the cause of my monitor issues. Previously, I had written about building a building a new system. There were no details of this new system, because I was raving about my new monitor and speakers, but it included a GeForce 9500GT video card. So I took the new video card out of the new computer and put it in the "main" computer. This has resolved the issues I was having and I can now watch full screen videos again.

Monitor Update

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have been having problems viewing full screen video on my new 24 inch Samsung LCD monitor. From a little bit of testing that I have been doing, I believe that the problem lies with the video card. It is a NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GS, that shouldn't have any problems displaying the full screen video. I will need to find some time so I can swap out the video card and see if this is the case. I'll keep you all updated.... becuase there are just some many of you reading this :-P

New Computer Bits

The other weekend I went out and bought some new computer bits. I built up a new system but also got some new speakers and a new monitor for my existing computer. I got all the bits from IT Estate at North Rocks. I find that IT Estate is easy to get to and have good prices.

I'm very impressed with my new speakers. They are Logitech X-240 2.1 Speaker system. Setup was easy and the sound is great, and for $49, they are awesome value. It is great have some nice sound coming from the PC after living with a set of el-cheapo "PC" speakers that were probably worth $5.

I initially purchased a 24 inch BenQ LCD monitor. It was a nice monitor, but I found it had a dead pixel. I took it back for an exchange as per the BenQ pixel policy, but the monitor I bought was the last one they had in stock, so rather than waiting, I got a refund and purchased a Samsung 2493HM instead. It is also a 24 inch LCD that does 1080P HD. It take analogue, DVI, and HDMI inputs. The stand is tilt, height, swivel and pivot adjustable, which is one o my favourite features :-) It means I can lift the screen and turn it 90 degrees from landscape to a portrait orientation. This will will make reading long documents or web pages very easy. The screen is huge compared to my 17 inch LG LCD, and it looks fantastic! The image quality is amazing.

The screen is surrounded in a shiney black case, which looks sweeeet! However, Samsung have opted for the clean look for this monitor and have done away with buttons. Instead the "buttons" are replaced by touch sensitive sections on the bottom right of the monitor. To operate, just touch the labeled sections on the front of the case. While this makes for a very clean look on the front of the monitor, it also makes it rather hard to operate. If you don't touch the right spot, it won't register the touch. The lablels are not backlit and the text is very hard to read against the black case. This is overcome by the MagicTune software that comes with the monitor allowing for the adjustments to be made with the software instead of the "buttons" on the monitor.

I have found some problems with this monitor too. When watching full screen videos, I find that the screen will go blank and the monitor power light will flash, like it has gone into power savin mode. Other times, the display will go blue - white - grey - black - and then to a kind of test pattern screen with different coloured boxes, and then keep changing constantly. I haven't yet found a resolution to the problem, but it never happened on the old monitor. I have updated the video card drivers, but this hasn't helped. It is rather annoying, but I have a few things I will try to determine where the problem lies before I go back to Samsung to see what they say. I hope I can get it resolved quickly, because the picture great and it is awesome for watching videos on (when it actually works). I'll keep you updated on the progress of this problem.