WeaponsGradeCode

Sometimes open source really comes through. Here’s how to record MMS streams with mplayer:

mplayer -dumpstream -dumpfile stream.wmv mms://<URL>

Intel Sandy Bridge 2600k Computer

My MacBook Pro serves me well but I really wanted something with a little more horsepower, and the laptop’s always hooked up to 100 things so its not so easy to pick it up and move around. I’ve been looking at prices and options for a while and nothing’s struck my fancy until I saw the Intel Sandy Bridge 2600k processor. Easily overclocked and a good system only ran about $1000 with a hot new hard drive and reasonable graphics.
This is the system I bought and a picture:

• Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor
• ASUS P8P67 PRO LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
• G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
• MSI N460GTX CYCLONE 1GD5/OC GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5
• Seagate Barracuda XT ST32000641AS 2TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5″ Internal Hard Drive

Per a previous post I built a new computer using the Intel Sandy Bridge 2600k processor.  When I purchased the system it wasn’t clear if that trick tower CPU cooler would be included so I simply ordered the retail 2600k package and hoped for the best. A traditional flat cooler came with the unit. Here are the temperatures at idle and full load with the stock heat sink and without overclocking:

Intel Sandy Bridge 2600k and Stock Heatsink at Idle

Intel Sandy Bridge 2600k and Stock Heatsink at Full Load

This processor is supposed to overclock trivially so I thought I’d give it a try. Punching the processor up to 4.1GHz and running it flat out on the stock cooler brought temperatures up to 90 degrees. I wasn’t comfortable with that and bought the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus based on price and its reviews. Here are pictures of the unit:

Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus Box

Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus Opened

Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus Back

Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus Side

Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus Parts

Installation was a bit tricky but not too bad. You’ll need full access to the back of the Motherboard to install it.

Performance after installation was great. Here are the results:

Intel Sandy Bridge 2600k and Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus Full No Overclock

Intel Sandy Bridge 2600k and Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus Full Overclocked

The stock, retail cooling system really sucks. It works within the published specs but do not overclock the 2600k using it. Here’s the abysmal thermal transfer paste pattern after removing the heatsink. What a disaster.

Intel Sandy Bridge 2600k Stock Thermal Paste Pattern

Intel Sandy Bridge 2600k Stock Thermal Paste Pattern Heat Sink

The best part is the cooler fits nicely in my ThermalTake V3 case.