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Velocity Micro Second Try - Mixed

S

sw001

n00b
Joined
Sep 5, 2006
Messages
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Velocity Micro Second Try - Mixed

I received my second Velocity Micro computer today, after the first got damaged. Here is a thread about that:
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1095842

System summary:
LXe-W Black Signature Case
550 Watt Antec True Power 2.0
Asus P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe motherboard
Intel Core 2 E6600
LiquiCool 3 Advanced Thermal Electric Cooling
2048MB Corsair Electric Cooling
256MB eVGA 7900 GT
Soundblaster X-Fi Extreme Music

The second computer arrived about a month after the first came damaged. (Actually about 28 days give or take). That included a week of waiting for VM to have UPS to verify damage, then another 2-3 weeks for VM to rebuild the system.

Needless to say, I was pretty concerned about the delivery of the 2nd computer. My wife called when it arrived and said the outside box was dinged up a bit, and something was rattling inside the computer. It turned out that one of the drive bay covers had become dislodged and was inside of the case. This is the second VM computer that I've had to open and attempt fixing before even turning on. UPS really sucks, and maybe VM should put more padding in the boxes.

Everything else looked fine though, and there was no other obvious damaged to the case, and all the cards were seated properly. VM upgraded my $200 water cooling option with the new $160 cooling system that came on in the meantime. I was excited, because I figured it'd be an upgrade and quieter then the original water cooling system. My main reason for spending the extra money was after talking to VM sales, and finding out that the Water cooling system was quieter then the normal CPU fans they installed. I didn't think to ask if the new thermal electric system was quieter, as I assumed it was. (Why put a louder system in when you don't officially support overclocking?)

So I plugged in the system and turned it on. The system came on, but was very loud. I figured that most systems start loud with fan noise for a quick cool off, but then quiet down. My previous Dell XPS did this. Unfortunately, the new VM never quiets down. It seems that the thermal electric cooling is quite loud all the time, maintaining a very constant noise. For instance, in every other computer I've owned, the video card when running a game, or 3dmark, is always the loudest component. With the new VM though, I can not hear the video card (7900 GT). When the system is running a game, or just idle, the system is loud. Louder then any other computer I've heard.

Another minor disappointment is that while the speakers worked and played normal Windows sounds, the Creative XiFi's control panel wasn't installed. That meant I had to install the software before putting the card into gaming mode to enable the better EAX support. Just a minor nitpick, but all the Nero software was installed, so why not the Creative control panel? I never heard back why this wasn't installed previously, or on this machine.

After getting the computer on and playing for a bit, I launched 3dmark06. This time the full professional version was on the system, thanks VM. I setup 3dmark06 to loop and left the room. When I came back an hour later, the computer had rebooted. At this point, after putting the latest drivers on the machine, I can not get 3dmark06 to run for more then an hour or two. I tried leaving the system on overnight w/ the 3dmark06 software running, but when I woke up at 5am the machine had rebooted, and the fans sounded extremely stressed, so I immediately shutdown.

I've tried some other tests sparingly so far, like Prime95 and Super PI. However, after hearing the sound from the computer after it being on all night, I'm very hesitant to leave the system on overnight again. The CPU temp program I have is also reporting both cores at 70 degrees Celsius w/ the combo of Prime95 and Super Pi, which seems to hot.

Through the process though, VM's support has been very good to excellent. I have been able to reach Chris and Heather from VM fairly often. I am waiting for them to reply to emails I sent over the weekend, but assume today may be a holiday for them.

Right now, the computer is as fast as I'd hoped, and functional, but I'm concerned about long time gaming, and casual use. I'm skeptical about stability since 3dmark06 won't run for more then an hour or two. I don't want to get caught up into a long gaming session to see a reboot. I'm also skeptical that the system can be left on overnight safely when working on something. My office gets very warm in the summer as well, so I'm hopeful the system will be fine then.

Heather suggested running 3dmark05 over the weekend, but the Pro version which I bought doesn't loop. Hopefully she can give me another good test. Chris hopefully will respond on the fan noise. I will call if I don't hear from them by tomorrow.

One other niggle, is that even though I didn't receive a functional computer for over two months (including the first damaged machine), VM definitely was on the ball with payments, as I was responsible for paying as soon as I ordered, not when the system was delivered. I feel a bit disappointed by this, as I'm sure any payment delay from me caused by the UPS' damage on the first one was probably covered by UPS insurance. I'm not sure though, just a guess.

Right now, I'm left with the following issues:

- very loud (louder then videocard) fan noise that is constantly on, and at times sounds strained. If the cooling system turns out to just be louder then 7900GT, then I will most likely strip it out and find a quieter solution on Newegg, and recommend against others getting it. The previous water cooling system was much quieter, and caused the 7900GT to be the loudest part of the machine only when gaming.
- 3dmark06 is not stable when running on the system
- warranty coverage if the cooling system is modified

My current thoughts on the computer is that I am more impressed with the personel in the company and their ability to respond then I am with the shipping and computer itself. I'm fairly confident that it'll all work out though. My previous computer, a Dell XPS probably had lousy support. I never had to experience it though, as it came stable out of the box and worked for years. I bought VM to have the great service behind the computer, and unfortunately I have to use it, whether VM's or UPS's problem.

Reader's Digest Summary -
- Great support from VM, especially Chris and Heather
- UPS is a disgrace
- "Rushed" rebuild off VM machine took 3+ weeks
- Second machine is very fast, but very loud, and unstable. Overall I'm not impressed, and I probably will have to install a quieter cooling system or surf the web on another machine.

Questions for others:
- what part of your system is the loudest? CPU cooling, case fans, or video card?
- is it unreasonable to want 3dmark06 to run over night?

I am very hopeful that I need to somehow reseat the new cooling system to quiet it down, and potentially another small fix to get 3dmark06 to run stably overnight. If I can get these two things going (a quiet and stable system), then it'll be just about the perfect computer backed by great support. Otherwise I don't know.

Scott
 
Scott,

After reading the entire old thread about the problems you had, I am really glad you now have a fully working computer.

You asked some great questions, particurlarly:
1) Why won't 3DM06 run for very long? That's a big concern, yes?
2) Why did the "rush" replacement build still take 3 weeks? This might be OK if there is a really good reason (some particular part was backordered or something). But without an explanation, it sounds really bad considering what you had already been through!

-Charlie
 
Scott,

Im sorry to hear about your UPS problems, thats really unfortunate. Hopefully you can get the issues with the machine itself ironed out in a timely fashion.

After reading this and a few other threads, is it me or is VM hitting a run of bad luck lately? I literally did over 6 weeks of reading (not much else to do in my free time in a 3rd world country) and re-reading about different boutique builders before choosing on VM, and not once did I come across anything that would make me even think about thinking of having a second thought. Seems like within a few days of placing my own order a rash of mixed or in some cases poor reviews on resellerratings.com and on this forum have sprouted up. Needless to say, its slightly unsettling considering the amount of money we've paid for these machines.

Scott, best wishes, and please keep us updated about your computer!

-Brian
 
Ask neighbors and friends, see what kind of experience they have with UPS deliveries. Wouldn't be surprised if the local warehouse has a history.
 
I wonder if its a bad UPS delivery area or not. FedEx has always been better to me, but VM uses UPS. I forgot to mention that VM did UPS overnight the machine to me when I was really unhappy I'd lose another weekend. I'm still waiting on the window to the case as well (a temporary panel is installed now). VM support is good. It is just frustrating I have to use it.

Again though, if I can figure out how to make it as quiet as my first system, and have it stable, it'll be great. It just sounds like its running 'full' all the time, and is unsettling. I just haven't read a review yet that mentioned that the system was louder then the video cards in it. Usually reviewers comment and review how loud video cards are specifically.
 
Thanks for the link DrBeer, but I believe that is the older system VM used, not the newer thermal electric system that I have. This is what is in it now:

Why should you choose the LiquiCool 3™ Advanced Thermal Electric CPU Cooler? Unlike water-cooling products, the LiquiCool 3™ does not use a radiator. Instead, it uses a proprietary ‘Chiller' which incorporates multiple TECs (also called peltiers) to chill the liquid coolant. This increases thermal capacity and provides for faster heat absorption at the source. Custom designed for Velocity Micro, the LiquiCool 3™ is the new standard in performance CPU cooling.
Click to expand...
 
sw001 said:
Thanks for the link DrBeer, but I believe that is the older system VM used, not the newer thermal electric system that I have. This is what is in it now:
Click to expand...

Yeah I ordered the same one in mine -- while I know the one in the link is different, what I was getting at was that apparently there were cooling settings on the system in the above link. The writers reviewing the system said the higher they turned it, the louder it got. I was just curious if maybe there were similar settings on the one in your system, being as the same company designed both systems.

I'm assuming youve phoned VM about it... what did they have to say?
 
I'm assuming youve phoned VM about it... what did they have to say?
Click to expand...
I haven't phoned back as I have expected to hear from Chris or Heather from VM. We exchanged emails Friday and this weekend. I have not heard, so I will have to call.

Right now though, I wouldn't recommend the new cooling system to anyone, unless people really want to overclock. Even then, the only difference that I notice between the previous water solution and this one is the excessive noise generated by the new system.

Apparently the Asus deluxe motherboard is not a good overclocking solution for the Core 2, so an extremely cool solution for the systems VM is shipping seems overkill beyond people wanting a very quiet system for the enthusiast level the Gamer's Edge is aimed at.

If it is not somehow broken, I will probably have to remove it and put something else in.

I'd guess there is a problem though, and again, UPS did me a disservice.
 
sw001 said:
Apparently the Asus deluxe motherboard is not a good overclocking solution for the Core 2
Click to expand...

Is your system overclocked?

If it is, sometimes 3DMark can have some issues. For instance our OverdrivePC that we had in the office many, many moons ago was overclocked to the moon and would crash on 3DMark. However, it was otherwise completely stable.

If your system is stock, though - you need to be investigating this stability problem, which I'm sure you are.
 
No, it isn't overclocked. The Core 2 is pretty fast on its own for me, I don't think I need extra now, especially for what appears a pretty small gain. VM has sent me more emails. I'm just really sick of UPS at this point.

VM definitely has great service. I just wish UPS didn't cause issues.
 
Scott,

I have read all your posts and threads regarding VM and I have to say you have been very patient and professional. Regarding the first computer you received before, I would have done the same thing you did, going through the process of working with UPS and VM. However, you have received a second machine that is not meeting your expectations. 3dmark should run without any problems. Also, your cooling system is obviously much too loud, something everyone wants to avoid. I would RMA the machine back to VM or ask for a refund. You have been very patient within this whole process and I think the time is up for VM. VM has done a great job of posting here on the forum and keeping in contact with you but you have spent too much money to be waiting around and hope you get something that works.

Rob
 
I agree with techie.
For a water cooling solution, 70c under full load for a C2D (hell, any proc.) is a bit extreme.

If you wanna "test" the CPU overnight, try folding@home (where you fold molecules on your comp, or something) You can config it to run 100% for any large amount of time.

F@H is here: http://folding.stanford.edu/
 
Scott, I am sorry that I haven't seen this sooner - I have been traveling and away from the intarweb. ;)

The LiquiCool 3 is geared more towards performance with its active cooling - but there always a chance that there could be something wrong with the fan. I have forwarded this on to the right people back at HQ and we'll see what we can do.

Thanks for gettig in touch with us about this; I hope you know by now that we want to make you a happy customer. :)
 
Thanks for gettig in touch with us about this; I hope you know by now that we want to make you a happy customer.
Click to expand...

Chris - If I had any doubts about this I would have tried to return the computer a long time ago. :) I have nothing but respect for your support. I am just frustrated and paranoid at this point because what UPS did to the first machine, and then when other parts were knocked off the second one.

The problem is that the computer is very good in most other aspects, and it was pretty expensive. I really want 3dmark06 to go through, and know that the system is extremely stable, and much better then I could build.

I am working with Heather now. Apparently my cooling system seems to be working very well. I ran the SP2004 (SuperPi) mod last night on each CPU (two of them) and 3dmark2001 and everything was fine, and the CPU stayed cool.

The problem though is that its still loud, and it really shows up in a very quiet office. Apparently I can hook it up differently to make it quieter according to another email, so I'm hopeful this is the case. I don't need it on full all the time ;-).

For the record, VM offered to have the computer inspected or sent back to check out again, so the customer service is great. Other tests show the computer really flies at most things, and its pretty great.
 
Scott,

Glad to hear things are panning out... I can only imagine what a relief it is for you. :D

Best wishes,

-Brian
 
Scott,

Yeah, 70° C does seem pretty damn high, especially for a thermal electric cooling solution. What's reporting those temps? The temp monitoring program that came with the motherboard? Have you tried Intel's Thermal Analysis Tool, also sometimes called TAT? That's a pretty solid method of determining the actual internal temps of both cores.

Sorry to hear that you still have concerns/problems. :( I'm confident they'll all get sorted out soon.

-Ben
 
Scott,

I'm glad your problems with the VM Computer are being sorted out satisfactory. I was getting a little worried for myself. I have an estimated ship date of Oct 14 for my VM computer which is similar to yours. It will also have the LiquiCool 3 Thermal Electric Cooling installed.

Bob
 
Just a quick reply, maybe I'll try to add more of a review later.

Currently, the VM computer is able to run 3dmark06 overnight without crashing. Noise levels are down, though still pretty loud (still can't hear the 7900GT running during graphics intensive apps).

Apparently the new Liquidcool3 system was hooked up completely incorrectly on my system. VM overnighted new cables after determining this, and I installed them. The fans no longer run at full speed, but are still loud in general. The nice interior wiring has taken a bit of a hit though.

I'm currently waiting for the window to my PC case to arrive, but it looks like (from other threads) that VM is having issues with cases.

Tech support and support from VM has been very good, but it kind of sucks that the computer arrived hooked up incorrectly with the new cooling system, and that it is still a bit louder then I expected.

One of the reasons I did not want to put the PC together myself was that I did not want to deal with trouble shooting it, and messing with the motherboard and wiring, and that is exactly what I had to do anyway, at a larger increased cost (vs building myself).

I think if my first system wasn't damaged by UPS, I would have been much more satisfied, as it was quieter, and hooked up correctly to start it appears. Overall, it is a very good system. I don't have any complaints about its general performance, it meets expectations in this regard. If anything happens down the road (hopefully it won't), I'm sure VM will be excellent with support again.
 
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