PC Help Needed - Assembling a PC

[AuroraProject]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wallijonn 42cfm may be too much. All you really need is about 17 - 25 cfm. My PBZ used to overheat even though I had a 127cfm 120mm fan installed on the intake and two 40cfm 80mm exhaust fans. I then installed a 120mm heatpipe hole, installed a 70cfm 120mm intake and 70cfm 120mm stovepipe exhaust, removed the 80mm fans, blocked the 80mm holes, installed a 70cfm 120mm and my temps dropped 25F. I then added the XP120 and a Silverstone 20cfm 120mm fan and my temps dropped another 15F. I idle at 100F, Zone 1 at 93, zone 2 at 90. So if you can remove the top of the case (even if you have to remove the rivets) and then do a mock up with cardboard with a CD hole in between the PSU back and the CDRom back, then measure the temps. Is your intake fan 120mm?

No, there are dual 80's in, an 80 out on the mobo tray, an 80 out on the psu, and an 80 out blowhole. I'm considering adding another 80 to the side panel blowing onto the video cards.

 

[SDA]

Where are the fans, though? It's quite possible to get better airflow with two 80mms than with five... it all depends on what's put where.

 

[AuroraProject]

It's a CoolerMaster Praetorian, the dual 80s are in the front panel behind a filter, one 80 exhaust on the mobo tray above the i/o panel, and one 80 exhaust on the top panel of the case. I have considered replacing the stock CoolerMaster 29cfm intake fans with higher flowing Panaflos.

Here's a pic:

 

[Elec]

A 70cfm fan may be noisy, even in the 120mm form factor, if that's a concern. It should be noted though that most Thermalright heatsinks are designed to perform best with a higher airflow. 43C full load is not something I'd be at all concerned about. You're not getting into dangerous territory until you're above 65 or 70C and anything below 50 is pretty good. I have an 84cfm 80mm tornado fan on my CPU and it has an amazing high pitched scream at full throttle - sounds a lot like a small hairdryer or vacuum cleaner. Fortunately I have it on a fan controller and running it at about half speed is a good compromise of noise and cooling (and of course I can crank it up if it's July and I'm playing a game so that I need cooling but don't care about the noise).

As for power supplies, the wattage figure is usually a max peak rating - something you could pull for 60 seconds before poof and smoke. That's ok though, because max draw tends to be at startup when all the drives and fans need to spin up, and this doesn't last long. It'd be very hard to build a normal desktop PC that would max out a 600W PSU continuously. Maybe an SLI rig with a 10 disk RAID array

Efficiency is still important though, with higher obviously being better. Some PSUs show a drop in efficiency as load increases, so it could actually be better from that standpoint to have a larger supply with more headroom.

 

[Oink1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AuroraProject I'm not having fun with my XP-120 and AS5 at this point. I applied the Arctic Silver using the "blob and twist" method and my temps are the same as they were with the stock AMD cooler. I'm going to pull it back off and try the thin even layer approach, see if that halps any. It could also be the fan I have on it, a 42 cfm CoolerMaster 120mm.

The uber thin layer is the way to go mate - use a single sided razor blade if you can source one or an old CCard will suffice... Remember it does take quite a few thermal cycles to reach it's optimum performance so be patient!

 

[AuroraProject]

It's an SLI gaming rig with a PC Power & Cooling Turbo Cool 510 SLI, and dual 6800 Ultras, so I'm not concerned with noise.




Maybe we should get back to gsferarri's questions.

 

[gsferrari]

What do you guys think of this package deal by newegg?

Newegg package deal

It is pretty tempting...considering that it has the AMD64 also!! and SLi! (but only one GPU...maybe I will buy the second one).

good deal?

gs

 

[SDA]

That heatsink's awfully expensive for what it is, and there are probably better memory choices in that price range (maybe some of that TCCD+Brainpower stuff, like the currently-far-too-expensive PDP/Patriot XBLK stuff?). The DFI board is currently more popular than that A8N (not really a big deal, but still), and you can probably do better for the burner and PSU. Also, the A64 Venice core is coming out in early May, and it's supposed to overclock really well.

It's not bad, all things considered, it's just that you could do other, slightly better things with the money.. and it does seem like a shame to waste a 3.4C. Doesn't seem to offer much of interest in the package, anyway.

That reminds me, though. I probably already asked this or something like it, but what were you planning to do for I/O devices? The one part of a build that I always splurge on is the I/O stuff, because a computer with a great monitor, mouse, and even keyboard is just easier to use.

Oh, and if all of this advice seems confusing, that's because it is. (If it doesn't seem confusing, you're smarter than I am, heh.) PC hardware is constantly becoming outdated, there's always something way better around the corner, and everyone has their own opinions on what is and isn't reliable. (Honestly, I think audio equipment recommendations are way easier.) But hey, at least at the end of it you'll get something that's plenty fast.. at least for six months or so

 

[gsferrari]

I/O :

Stuff I already have...

Monitor : Samsung 997DF 19" Flat Screen CRT
Mouse : Logitech MX-510 / MX-518 / Razer Diamondback Plasma Ltd. Edition
Mousepad : ExactMat (mouse and pad from http://www.razerzone.com/)
Joystick : Logitech Extreme Digital 3D
Wheel : Logitech MOMO FF Steering Wheel
Speakers : Klipsch Promedia Ultra 5.1
Soundcard : Audigy2 nx for games and EMU1212 for audio
Decoder : Creative DDTS-100

 

[SDA]

You're in great shape, then. I only ask because a LOT of people just have old 17" goldfish bowl screens and cheap (maybe even non-optical, gasp) mice.. your I/O stuff is all really good, IMHO, so you're fine. Although you could always experiment with dual monitors

I was going to suggest getting a cheapish-but-good Socket 478 motherboard and then upgrading to an A64 and matching motherboard later, but then it occured to me that you don't exactly see many Socket 478 motherboards with PCI-E support. I think there are actually a couple of them around (saw a press release about one a while back), but I have no idea where you'd source them, sorry. Alternatively, you could wait for Venice, but waiting involves waiting.

On a side note, this thread is confusing my brain into thinking it's on PC hardware forums and not Head-Fi. I almost said "wow, you have an E-MU too?!"

 

[AuroraProject]

If you plan on overclocking, the Asus sli board is not for you, it doesn't overclock well. Mine has been rock solid stable since the minute I turned it on, but try as I might, it wont overclock for me at all. The DFI or MSI sli boards would be a better choice for overclocking. The 6800GT card is a good choice, especially if you plan to add another later down the road. Personally I would go with a different power supply, like a Zippy/Emacs, Fortron, OCZ Powerstream, or a PC Power & Cooling.

 

[gsferrari]

I am stuffed because the razer wont show up for another 3 weeks. The MX518 is nice...but again...TOO heavy and I am a wristy gamer.

I was tempted to get a standard razer diamondback because they share the same hardware...but what the heck - the plasma looks uber sweet

gs

 

[SDA]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gsferrari I am stuffed because the razer wont show up for another 3 weeks. The MX518 is nice...but again...TOO heavy and I am a wristy gamer.

OT, but have you removed the weight inside of it? I have an old MX300 that was WAY too heavy for my hand (can't stand heavy mice, which is why I haven't and likely won't go wireless), and someone told me that I could take the weight out of it pretty easily with a small Phillips screwdriver. I did so, and now the weight is just about right for me. I know the MX510 has a weight, and I'd think the MX518 would too. Just be careful about it.

Not sure what it does to the warranty, but I can't see myself using my mouse's warranty anyway. I'm not even sure if it has one.

 

[gsferrari]

Yes it has the weight in it but this is a two sided sword. For casual use the MX-510 has no equal...comfort...ergonomics...brilliant. It is excellent for gaming as well. I just think a lighter faster mouse will give me better results in FPS games...especially CS:Source.

I love the MX-510...the MX-518 is kickass but has the weight issue. I love the Razer cosmetics...but I hear the quality is iffy. But i'll never know unless I try one out for myself.

gs