Saturday, August 18, 2012

Getting My Nerd On (Part 2.5)

This is it. The final piece is now in my possession. I was finally able to purchase the last component that I need to complete my rig. The RAM, and the reason for keeping this last was because it was more common and easier to get than the other parts that I purchased sooner. The RAM sticks that I chose originally were the Kingston HyperX Genesis Blu series, 1600MHz DDR3 CL9. However, I was struck again with the availability issues that I faced in the earlier parts of getting my parts together. So I had to make a switch. The RAM I ended up picking between was the G. Skill Ares (1600MHz DDR3 CL9, 1.5v) and the G. Skill Sniper (1600MHz DDR3 CL9, 1.25v). Both of these memory modules use low profile heat spreaders, the only difference is that the G. Skill Sniper uses a heat spreader that doesn't cover the whole stick to bring out the embossed rifle design that it has. I was looking at the 2 modules and decided to go with the Sniper simply because it was a cooler looking design in my opinion. It was just something I could resist, the combination between computers and firearms, can't get any cooler than that.


(G. Skill Sniper RAM Sticks, Photo Courtesy of Google)
To get into the more technical aspect of the RAM I chose, here are a few basic characteristics (specs taken from manufacturer website):


CAS Latency
- 9-9-9-24
Capacity 
- 8GB (4GB x2)
Speed
- DDR3-1600 (PC3 12800)
Test Voltage
- 1.25 Volts
Error Checking
- Non-ECC
Type
- 240-pin DIMM

Just to give you a short overview (based on my knowledge), CAS (Column Access Strobe) Latency or CL, refers to the time lag between the moment the memory controller signals the memory controller to access a specific area of data (usually called a memory column) on a RAM Memory Module. In layman's term, take your Memory Controller as a telephone and your RAM Memory Module as another telephone, your CAS Latency would be the number of rings it takes before someone on the other line picks up. These number of rings is referred to as a clock cycle. Now you might be wondering what "9-9-9-24" means, these numbers represent your Memory Timings and I will do my best to explain this as plainly as possible, so here it goes. To give you an example of how memory is organized, just look at it as a library. Books are arranged in rows and columns and the memory controller is the librarian. In order to get the book you want, the librarian needs the proper coordinates in order to reach that specific row and column in order to get the specific book you need.


This in order from left to right with 9-9-9-24 as an example:

1. tCL or CAS Latency- this is the time it takes the memory controller to send a signal to the RAM Memory Module to access a specific area of data. This is considered to be the most important of all the timings because it is the first step of accessing the Memory Modules. This will generally tell you how long the librarian will take to get the book you requested.
2. tRCD or Row Address Strobe (RAS) to Column Address Strobe (CAS) Delay- Once the memory controller sends the "coordinates" of the requested memory, this is the time it would take before it gets to the area of selected data. This will tell you how long it will take for the librarian to get to the book from a specified section of the library.
3. tRP or Row Precharge Time- Once the memory controller reaches the specified area of the requested memory, this is the time it will take to access that area of requested memory. This is the time it will take for the librarian to pick the book out of the shelf.
4. tRAS or Row Active Time- This is the number of cycles that a row has to remain active to ensure that the memory controller will have enough time to access the information that is in a specified area. This is the time that the librarian has to get to the area of the library where your book is located, pick that book out and bring it back to you before you get impatient and just leave the library.


(G. Skill Sniper RAM, Photo Courtesy of Thomas Joseph C. Huang)
I hope that my brief explanation was sufficient enough to give a general understanding of RAM Timings as these will play a role in terms of overclocking your RAM.

 Now that the final piece is in possession, it is time to put everything together. Stay tuned for Part 3 of this Getting My Nerd On series!












For Part 1, check it here: http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/06/getting-my-nerd-on-part-1.html
For Part 2, check it here: http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/06/getting-my-nerd-on-part-2.html
For Part 2.1, check it here: http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/07/getting-my-nerd-on-part-21.html
For Part 2.2, check it here: http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/07/getting-my-nerd-on-part-22.html
For Part 2.3, check it here: http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/07/getting-my-nerd-on-part-23.html
For Part 2.4, check it here: http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/08/getting-my-nerd-on-part-24.html

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Getting My Nerd On (Part 2.4)

While browsing through my Facebook feed, I came across a post by PCHub, they were having a promo for the Antec LanBoy Air case, it was originally priced at 8,640 bucks (PhP) which is approximately $206 (USD) based on today's exchange rate and the promo mentions a 50% discount which cuts the price down to 4,320 bucks (PhP) which is about $103 (USD). My eyes lit up at seeing this huge price drop so I decided to give them a call, unfortunately, the case was already sold out. Before giving up hope, I checked PCNetmiles (which is nearer to me and more accessible) to see if they were selling the case as well and to my surprise, they too were on sale! Their original selling price was 8,800 (PhP) which is around $210 (USD) and they dropped the price to 4,300 (PhP) which is around $102. This deal was too good to pass up for the following reasons and to explain this I will quote my good friend Martin: "One, it's an Antec. Two, the price.". When this case was first released and after seeing the promotional demonstration as well as the video and written reviews, I was sold. However, what held me back was the original price which was way over my budget. The case that I had in mind in place of the Antec LanBoy Air was the Cougar Evolution, because of the features it presented as well as its price (4,000 Php or $95). But then this deal became the game-changer, because the price drop fell right onto my budget range which is 4,000-5,000 (PhP) or $95-$120 (USD) and on top of that, this was the case I had originally wanted. My plan was to get the case as the last part but this was an unexpected opportunity that I could not pass up. Only downside was the blue one was no longer in stock, so I chose the red instead. Now I know how women feel when their favorite stores go on sale. Haha!


(Antec LanBoy Air, Photo courtesy of Antec.com)
Now getting into the case itself, if you take a look at the photo provided on their website, it's easy to see that this case is truly out of the ordinary, it's like nothing else on the case market as far as I've seen, it actually reminds of a Transformer (especially when you choose the yellow one, which reminds me of Bumblebee, it comes in blue and red by the way). As the label on the photo says, it is a Modular case. This means that almost every panel on this case can be removed and shifted to at least one new location if desired, this also includes the motherboard tray as well as the Power Supply cage. This case can support up to 15 120mm fans, that's a huge number compared to the other cases on the market today. Antec was kind enough to provide their customers with 5 case fans right out of the box, 2 TwoCool LED fans in the front panel (these both have variable speed stepless control knobs), 2 TwoCool LED fans on the side panel and 1 TwoCool fan in the back. One of the things that made me hesitate buying this case was the fact there are not dust filters whatsoever and to me this spelled "Dust Trap" right off the bat, but after doing some reading, the case is designed to generate positive pressure if you configure your fans correctly, Antec claims that this positive air pressure will blowout hot air and dust throughout the panel perforations of the case where there is no airflow involved. Once my setup is complete, I will put definitely put this claim to the test. You have some of the basic front panel port configurations, 2 USB 2.0 ports, Audio In and Out as well as 1 USB 3.0 port.


Another unique thing about this is case is the way you mount the Hard Drives, Antec uses what they call AirMounts which pretty much means that your 3.5" (the case can hold 6) are suspended in midair held by small bungee type cords that hook onto the case, don't worry, they are secure enough unless you do something foolish during installation and to add the concept of customization or "modularity", you can mount the in 3 different directions based on what suits you, of course this isn't a senseless concept, the reason behind this is that this setup reduces vibrations and reduces noise. You also have 2 internal 2.5" SSD bays at the base of the case. And on top of that, you also have the ability to rotate your 5.25" drives which add to the multitude of customizations you could do with this case. The case also comes with flip up carry handles for easy transportation of your rig in the event of a LAN Party or whatnot, hence the name LanBoy. Based on the photos, the case looks pretty flimsy but having handled the case in person, it is the complete opposite, it is a pretty solid case, it's well constructed and sturdy, weighing in at about 20lbs on its own. Once I begin my assembly, I will write about it so that everyone can get an idea regarding the ease or difficulty that is involved when putting the rig together in this case.


Looking back at my checklist, I just need my RAM and I'm set to put it all together. I can smell the completion of my rig getting closer.


(Antec LanBoy Air, Photo courtesy of Antec.com
Thank you PCNetmiles for my case and for the quick and easy transaction as usual! And thank you Janine, my awesome girlfriend for helping solidify my decision in terms of color choice!


Stay tuned for my next post which will essentially end Part 2 of this series which will allow me to move on to Part 3 which is putting everything together.



For Part 1, check it here: http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/06/getting-my-nerd-on-part-1.html
For Part 2, check it here: http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/06/getting-my-nerd-on-part-2.html
For Part 2.1, check it here: http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/07/getting-my-nerd-on-part-21.html
For Part 2.2, check it here: http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/07/getting-my-nerd-on-part-22.html
For Part 2.3, check it here: http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/07/getting-my-nerd-on-part-23.html