i7 920 Heatsink Upgrade

Let me begin by saying WOW! I'll let the numbers speak for themselves. Around a 20 degree Celsius difference, that's just crazy!




Here's the setup:
-Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core
-EVGA E758-A1 3-Way SLI (x16/x16/x8) LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
-OCZ 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
-EVGA 896-P3-1257-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked Edition 896MB
-SILVERSTONE TEMJIN TJ06B

Here's the upgrade:

Went from stock Intel i7-920 heatsink to a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus. This heatsink is huge and as the numbers show, it works! I've been waiting almost a year for a kick ass heatsink for the 1366 chipset. I found my solution through Maximum PC's 10 out of 10 Kick Ass review of the Cooler Master.

Final verdict:

It was a tight fit and a little frustrating, but I took my time and the results speak for themselves. Anyone that is curious because they have the same Temjin TJ06B case and EVGA E758-A1 mobo now knows that the new heatsink fits fine and it totally rocks!!!!

The noise level is the same or less. I also used Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM as well as Arctic Silver ACN-60ML (2-PC-SET) Thermal material Remover & Surface Purifier - OEM prior to installation to remove the previous thermal paste. These 2 products are simply amazing!

For $50 at Newegg, this upgrade can't be beat!!!!

Before:




Look at the poor coverage by the stock Intel heatsink =(

After:






THANK YOU MAXIMUM PC, COOLER MASTER, AND NEWEGG!!!!

A day in Boston

Hey guys,

I had a super fun day in Boston on Sat 9/26. First, I went to an all day meeting for the Association of Vascular and Interventional Radiographers (AVIR). I met a lot of nice folks and listened in on some great talks about current IR procedures and news.

From the meeting I then ended up at Boston Beer Works for a pint of Octoberfest. It was very awesome!

After the beer I walked around Fenway Park and saw some filming of a new movie, I don't know what, but there was tons of security. There was some also food phantom event going on too. It was realy busy around Fenway and the Sox weren't even home...

I ended up getting hungry so I had dinner at the House of Blues. I needed to kill time before the Angelspit/KMFDM show. I had some chicken meal, which was pretty good. Two Sam Adams Octoberfests later, it was now 630pm or so. Because I ate before the show at the HoB, I then skipped the long line outside and I was able to get right in. In total I waited about 15 min, killing time talking to security and then BANG I was in!!!

I have never seen KMFDM before and I was pretty stoked. I was to the right of the stage and up against the barrier, super sweet location!

The show was superb and better than I had expected. I truly hope you get the chance to see them if you're into that kind of scene. If you've already seen them, how did you like them and what date/location did you see them?

I tried to video the show, but security kept telling me to put away the camera =(

Enjoy what I was able to capture...

-Kevin

KMFDM - DIY


Angelspit - Grind



A few pics:

Awesome weekend!

Today was my niece's 4th birthday party. Mya celebrated with family and friends. You can view some pictures that I took here: http://www.216digits.com/pics/Mya's_4th



(the birthday girl!)


Also, Kerri and I went on a nature hike, in Coventry, Rhode Island. Of course I took my camera...you never know what you might see! Well, I saw tons of different mushrooms and fungi....most of which I've never seen before, like this purple mushroom (I think it's a Viscid Purple Cort)




To see all of my mushroom hunt pics, please visit: http://216digits.com/pics/MushroomHunt/

(All mushroom/fungi shots were taken in Rhode Island; I haven't identified all of them so any help would be much appreciated!)

Busy, busy, busy...

Hey gang,

I've been pretty busy taking pics and enjoying some beautiful weather here in the New England area (finally)! In no particular order here are some shots that caught my eyes:



Scrambled Egg Slime Mold (I was greeted one day at work with this outside of the entrance)



A cool cloud picture in Cumberland, RI.



Another cool Cumberland, RI picture.




Jenga the Westie and Cody the Black Lab enjoying some watersports!

A waterfall we encountered whilst on the doggie hike.

Below is a crazy video that I recorded outside my window at work today. A red tail hawk catching some lunch, a little bunny that we named just this morning (Betsy the Bunny, in case you were curious). Poor Betsy...

The Transformers 'Matrix of Leadership' 25 Year Anniversary Complete G1 Box Set

Super Sweet!!!! I can't wait to watch all 98 episodes!!!!

Check it out:



This is where I purchased it from:
http://www.transformerscollectorsset.com/

Here is a cool review that I found listing everything within the box and a neat writeup: http://tformers.com/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=1077

Gaston MF P Fredette

Summer has been very cloudy thus far for us folks in New England. Usually we get lots of sun, but this year we've had tons of clouds and rain...well at least I've been busy with my family, friends, and life, just not outdoors. One friend of note is the great G. MF P Fredette. He came all the way from Lawrence, KS to visit me in RI (well not only me, but his family too!) Anyways, the wife and I had him and his bride-to-be (getting hitched 6/2010) over one night for diner. It was a super swell time! We eventually busted out the Kubler Absinthe, fun times. Here are a few shots of our adventure:

Jaimie & GMFPF

GMMPF on his 8th glass of the ol' green stuff =)

GMMPF, me, and the green fairy (what's left of her...), oh ya!

Awww, How Cute...

Here's a shot I took a few weekends ago after a run. My camera was on a tripod and used my Sigma lens. Man, I love this lens, but I really need to use a tripod in shady or indirect light, in order to get the razor sharp imanges like the one below:


Click the image to see a larger version.

A few race pics

Here are a few pics from yesterday:


Yep, it's me (note the 162 in my race bib, not exactly 216, but....)


Coming around the bend, almost at the finish line.


Here was one of my cheering squads (aka co-workers)


I'll have more pics, once my minion submit...(more pictures that is ;-)

I DID IT!

THANK YOU EVERYONE!! I've raised over $1,800 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society!!!

I finished my first 1/2 marathon in 02:08:07

I placed 1065 of 1839 for the entire race and I placed 314 of 417 for my division (male <40).

314, that's freaking Pi!!! How perfect!

Let the fun begin...

Good morning all,

It's 5:05 am and today is the big day where I will run 13.1 miles. It will be my very 1st 1/2 marathon. I'm so excited and super happy that it's not raining cats & dogs!

Last night was the pasta dinner for me and my fellow Team In Training comrades. It was lots of fun and the food was really good! For those of you who know me personally, I was able to eat pretty much everything they offered because there was less than 3 ingredients per food item =)

I am so grateful and excited that I chose Team In Training as the program to participate in for my first 1/2 marathon. They take care of everything for you and offer so much inspiration that it's almost impossible not to be super motivated to finish.

I'd also like to thank all of my family and friends who supported me during my training. Without you, my training and fund raising would be have been a lot harder than it was, so THANK YOU!!! Because of you, I was able to raise $1,829 to help cure blood cancers!!!

Well I'm off to Providence to go run....for more info please visit here.

Cheers,
216Digits (aka Kevin)

New Lens

I saved up a little extra money and splurged on a new lens for my Nikon D80. I ended up ordering a "Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG APO Macro Motorized Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon SLR Cameras" for $185.00. I even had a $50 gift certificate to apply, therefore only $135! WOOT!

Anyways, I've only been using my kit lens that came with the D80, its a 18-135mm. I really like the lens, but I've always wanted more zooooom. I thought about ordering the Nikkor lens equivalent, but it's almost $600! I couldn't justify paying that much for a lens, not for what I do with photography. I mainly like to print 4x6's and make photoalbums and of course this blog =)

Enjoy my new, bestest moon shots...


Click above to view an image straight from the camera.


Click above to view the previous image post-processed. I cropped the image, therefore a zoom is applied on top of the 300mm lens. I also adjusted the color/contrast a smidge.

So what do you think? Could I have gotten better by spending the extra dough? Perhaps, we'll see....

Fooling Around

I had a little downtime tonight, so I decided to play around with some photo editing tools. Let me know what you think, enjoy!

Click on the images below to view larger.


Here's the original, taken from last summer.



Here's the edited version...I added an infrared filter and some other tweaks.

Twelve loooong miles!

Hey guys! Some of you know that I'm training for a 1/2 marathon this May. I'm training with a team that supports leukemia and lymphoma. Kindly click the purple TNT logo on the right to donate or read more information. They provide the know-how and experience so that I can cross the finish line. Well today I broke all sorts of personal records!!!

• Longest run of my life: 12 miles, check
• Fastest long run: 1h 53m 20s, check
• Most calories burned during exercise: 1652, check
• One tired Kevin: check!

Overall, I'm super impressed with myself. I really didn't think I would be able to do the mileage and endurance so easily, but once I get in my zone the miles and time just pass on by....

Let me share a screenshot of the run that I did (click on it to zoom!):

MGH

I ended up heading out to Boston for work today. The location: Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH for short). One of the interventional radiology departments had purchased a 65" Touch Schedule from us and I visited to give my company's blessing and seal of approval, regarding the installation and setup. It was an awesome day! I met lots of nice peeps and the department itself is really cool. Below you can enjoy some pics from my visit. Let me know what you think....


Cheers,
216Digits



The MGH's main entrance.


A cool window reflection shot.



Walking away from MGH.


Mike on the left, the 65" Touch Schedule in the middle, and me (aka Kevin) on the right.


The 65" Touch Schedule in use! What a monster!

Happy PI Day!

Hi everyone! Happy 3.14 (aka Pi)!

I just finished processing my pics from the San Diego trip. I should have them up sometime tomorrow (Sunday) or Monday.



Cya
216Digits

Hang in there!

Hey guys,

Hang in there for the full adventures of my recent San Diego trip! I'll be flying home tomorrow at 1015pm PDT and arriving on Thursday morning. Over the weekend (or maybe sooner) I'll have some of my favorite picutres as well as some stories posted on my blog to share with my dear sweet audience.

More soon... In the meantime, enjoy:

NO SNOW!!!

The BIG Show

Every year for work I travel to a different location across the country to attend the Society of Interventional Radiology's scientific meeting and tradeshow. This year it is being held in beautiful San Diego!

A co-worker and I, Emily, flew into SD at around 5:45PM PST, a little over an hour later than expected. We were delayed for a landing in Newark, NJ. Man, I hate that airport! I've never had good luck there. Our flight from Newark to SD was an delayed an hour as well.

The weather and scenery (no snow!) were most welcomed.

The ride into the city was spectacular, it was just about sunset.

Here are a few shots from our journey in, ENJOY!

Windows Home Server 411

Hey guys,

First, my TNT training is going great. I just finished running 6.32 miles in 1h 8m, a new distance and time record for me! If you haven't donated yet or would like more info, then please visit HERE. Thanks to all of my supporters!

Now to the business of the post, Windows Home Server (aka WHS). I have a friend interested in purchasing a home server to store all of his media centralized on his home network as well as computer backups. He asked if I could provide info regarding what I have at home and all the info I can regarding the HP Mediasmart home server line, I'd like to share with my faithful audience what I delivered to him.

Here is a list of resources for the HP mediasmart server and a wireless network:

Start here: What's a MediaSmart Server and why do I need one?

1) HP MediaSmart EX485

a) Newegg link

b) additional 750gb hard drive from newegg

c) $629.98 if you order the 2 together and insert the 2nd hard drive yourself

2) HP MediaSmart EX487 (same as above, but with a pre configured 2nd hard drive)

a) Newegg link

b) $699.99 if you order the pre-config 1.5 TB solution

3) HP MediaSmart EX470 (what I have)

a) Amazon link ($475.72)

b) my personal upgrade of CPU and RAM on 11/08
Patriot 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Desktop Memory Model PSD22G6672 - Retail Item #: N82E16820220231

AMD Athlon 64 LE-1640 Orleans 2.6GHz Socket AM2 45W Single-Core Processor Model ADH1640DHBOX - Retail Item #: N82E16819103239

Order Total $57.98

c) Additional 1tb hard drive
$99 (often on sale for 90 or so)

d) total for everything = $633.70

e) better processor, more hard drive space

f) cons: manual labor to upgrade, voids the 1 year manufacturer's warranty (that's why I waited until mine expired to upgrade)

g) how to upgrade CPU and RAM if you choose the manual upgrade route

h) I followed the instructions above to the 'T' and they were dead on, super easy to do

4) My favorite sites for news and info regarding WHS (some are not specific to the HP products)

a) We Got Served

b) official Microsoft forums

c) MediaSmart Server dot net

d) MSWHS

5) Software that I use on my server:

a) Avast! antivirus

b) Perfect Disk 2008 disk defragmentation: (new version)

6) WHS white papers:

a) http://216digits.com/WHS/

7) Recommendations

a) I say go for the EX485 and then add a 1TB drive

b) stay away from the 1.5TB drive, I've read lots of data corruption and failure problem reviews

c) you don't need the items listed in #5 right away, just something to think about

d) the benefit of having antivirus on the server is that it will protect your server files from getting infected

8) Reviews:

a) lots of review links in one place

b) the 475

c) one really good review

9) Network

a) wireless router WRT54G

b) Tomato, a 3rd party firmware update for the router

If you've found this article, please leave a comment and let me know what you think!! Also, please share what you have or what you plan on getting in the future with me!

Best,
216Digits

HAPPY 2-16

Hi everyone!

I hope you all have a HAPPY and SAFE 216!!!

Quick update on my TNT training: I ran 5.5 miles yesterday!! Wow, it was the first time I went that far at a full running pace without any walking breaks! It was hard, but I did it...

Thanks to all of the folks who donated and are cheering me on!

216

What? Where?

Hey guys,

You're probably wondering where the heck that wicked cool guy 'Kevin' has gone and what the heck has he been up to??

We'll I've been training to run a 1/2 marathon, that's 13.1 miles!!!! I've never ran further than a 5k (about 3.1 miles) before in my life. I'm training with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's 'Team in Training'. Part of the training includes raising funds for folks that have blood cancers, research for treatments, and hopefully a cure!

You can visit my info page here.

This is something that is making me feel very proud of myself. I'm able to help others as I accomplish something spectacular.

Please visit my training log too- click here.

One thing is for certain, it sure is cold running in the winter!!

Thanks all,
Kevin