[mralexosborn]

Quote:

I'm looking at the I7 Lynnfield based chip.  Nvidia has fallen behind a bit.  But holy balls batman, these double slot GPU coolers are massive. 

 

Maybe it's just me.  Some single card GPUs can suck up 250-300W at full bore.  300 ****ing Watts.  I think it was a AMD gpu.

 

There are a fair number of 80%+ efficiency 750W PSUs last time I checked.

 


Intel procs are well worth it.  They dominate on all fronts, budget, moderate, and ultra expensive.  The phenoms aren't bad, but they really can't compete.
 
About the whole Nvidia and AMD battle, I thought AMD's latest offerings were raping the crap out of Nvidia offerings?

Well, I love Intel it is just too pricey for me. I got the Athlon II 630. This is a quad core CPU that I OC'ed to 3.6Ghz. Intel didn't have that for $100. For sub $150 I think the Athlon II CPUs are the way to go. But thats only for super budget builds.
As for nVidia and AMD, yes I think the GPUs coming out this coming weekend will do that. But not until then, haha. 
 

 

[Nebby]

Yes, but depending on the power supply some of them lean more towards the 80% part when loaded lightly. I'mspeaking from the viewpoint of having built an ultra-efficient mini server box, so the little things such as power supply efficiency ranges interest me

Quote:

There are a fair number of 80%+ efficiency 750W PSUs last time I checked.

 

[ccbass]

I'm looking at a budget of around $1700 +/- $200.
 
First decision.  Full tower or Mid tower?  Weight is not an issue.  Neither is size.  Enough room for 2 optical drives, and at least 4 HDs.  Oh, and a double slot gpu cooler.

 

[mralexosborn]

Quote:

I'm looking at a budget of around $1700 +/- $200.
 
First decision.  Full tower or Mid tower?  Weight is not an issue.  Neither is size.  Enough room for 2 optical drives, and at least 4 HDs.  Oh, and a double slot gpu cooler.

Lian-Li full tower. That is what I would get if I had the money. 

 

[NomadicAce]

I think the corsair 600t looks interesting, lots of unique features which seem useful. Kind of pricey for a mid tower and I have not used it.
 
Here is a good video review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64JDcsyQqt8&feature=player_embedded#!
 
Lian Li is quality! But an Antec or Cooler Master would be cheaper and offer similar cooling for less, but would not have as nice of a shell. I would suggest getting something that looks appealing to you, has fairly thick panels, and offers at least 2 fans (an intake and an exhaust)

 

[Jodiuh]

I've got a 4yr old Stacker so of course I'm going to nudge you in that direction.

Cheap: $70 coolermaster 692/690v2, whatever, its the new one

good cooling, cramped

Not cheap: $200ish coolermaster Haf X
Great cooling, roomy

Probably not cheap: $300ish corsair 800D (is that right?)
Good cooling, roomy, and a looker

These will all make you smile. But only the Haf X can make you a better person.

 

[mattering]

Go for the HAF-X >D...I have it and im in love with it muahahaha~! XD

 

[ccbass]

Hmm.  Side fan yes or no?
 
I think 4 fans are a minimum.
 
2 front, 2 back, maybe 1 side?
 
Obviously given my price range, it'll be air-cooled.

 

[Jodiuh]

More fans, less psu I say. Shoot for 8~10.

Finally got most everything together this weekend. Still missing the 2nd GPU and Intel's G3 SSD. It's much cooler running than the i7/x58/470 setup before it.

Out on the town...


The full Monty...


Stacker 810 with convenience holes, suspended drives, carpeting, and lighting
4 year old PC Power & Cooling 610 silencer
Intake fans: 3 Scythe SFLEX E 1200 RPM
Middle fans: 2 Scythe SFLEX E 1200 RPM
Exhaust fans: 2 Arctic Fans (gobs of flow, very quiet, these fans kick ass)
Thermalright Venoumous X (washer mod) with Thermaltake SmartFan A2018 @ 1450 RPM (variable, cranked for LANs)
Asus P7P55D-E Pro v 1.01G (improved Foxconn socket/bracket)
i5 760
G.Skill 4 GB 1600 CL7 1.35 V (great skill in memory!)
Striped Velociraptors, Mirrored Deathstars, Sammy Optics
EVGA GTX 460 1 GB reference cooler
Auzentech Forte X-FI

Its not silent, but the noise floor's quite low and everyone recieves a solid blow job.

 

[NomadicAce]

Finding something with 2 in the back is rare. More than likely you will have 2/3 in the front, 1 in the top (typically larger), 1 in the back, and you can add your own on the side.
 
So long as you only do reasonable overclocks you are probably fine with just an intake, exhaust, and a nice heatsink with 2 fans in a push/pull configuration. However if  you really want that many fans your probably should look at the Antecs and Cooler Masters as you will get more fans for the money: I will list some reasonably priced cases.
 
(150ish) Pricey Group: Antec 1200, CM Haf 932, Lian Li PC-A70F, Corsair 600T
 
(100ish) Middle of the Road Group: Antec 900, CM 690/ CM692, CM Haf 922,Lian Li PC K62
 
Cheapie but notable: Antec 300, Rosewill Challenger (lots of fans at this price)
 
Some people like NXZT but I have never really been impressed. All of the cases I listed have good enough airflow unless you keep your room really warm (75 degree F+). I do not really think it is worth going much over $150 unless it is just a case you REALLY like.
 
If anyone thinks my suggestions are not good, go ahead and correct me I have not used all of those cases...just most of them (building computers for other people).
 
Also I should note I do like silverstone cases, but they do not really make anything cheap.

 

[ccbass]

I really hate flashy cases.  They piss me off.  Anything with 3242352 LEDs is a no go.  I have no issue with a LED or two inside so you can see the insides, but having an LED for EVERY fan is no good.  Plus, I will probably have this on a lot in order to rip movies and I need to sleep.
 
 
You striped vraptors?  Damn.  But drive failure could be a bitch, unless you backup a lot.  Wouldn't carpeting just hold heat and collect dust?  I mean it looks cool, but isn't it just hurting your PC?
 
 
As for OC'ing stuff.  I'm not sure if I want to yet.  I've really lost the OC touch and I haven't done it in so long, I would probably forget something and fry a chip. 
 
 

 

[Nebby]

You should always treat your hard drives as if they will die at any time, so backup shouldn't be an issue

I'm wary of the benefits of striping anyways, most usage cases don't benefit from crazy sequential read speeds. I actually went from a raid of 15k drives to one SSD and noticed performance benefits from the faster seek times

 
Carpeting is helpful for sound damping; it does insulate and collect dust as you said though.
 
Quote:

You striped vraptors?  Damn.  But drive failure could be a bitch, unless you backup a lot.  Wouldn't carpeting just hold heat and collect dust?  I mean it looks cool, but isn't it just hurting your PC?
 
 
 

 

[NomadicAce]

You can always remove the leds from the fans...Not too many cases now of days do not have led fans. I understand the reason for not liking them...I am not a fan (pun not intended) of them.
 
The CM 692 basic and Antec 300 (basic not illusion) do not have any led, and has a lot of room for more fans:
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGvBjEmXJnI&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UX_nXwX_EzU
 
They should both be large enough for you, so perhaps one of those would be a good choice.
 
Other than that the other ones I suggested do have a lot of LEDS...sorry. The corsair 600t has white leds so i am not sure how bright/annoying they would be.
 
 
 

 

[dirkpitt45]

Quote:

I've got a 4yr old Stacker so of course I'm going to nudge you in that direction.

Cheap: $70 coolermaster 692/690v2, whatever, its the new one

good cooling, cramped

Not cheap: $200ish coolermaster Haf X
Great cooling, roomy

Probably not cheap: $300ish corsair 800D (is that right?)
Good cooling, roomy, and a looker

These will all make you smile. But only the Haf X can make you a better person.

The 690v2 is not cramped. I switched from an antec 900 to the 690 II advanced, its better in almost every way imo. There really is nothing in that price range that's comparable to the 690II. I've had a megahalems and TRUE copper in it, and they all fit fine, provided you mount one side fan on the outside of the side panel, which is easy enough to do. Also had xfire 5870s, which fit quite nicely. You don't have a ton of room compared to the 800D, but more then enough for air cooling or a simple water loop. 
 
The 690II has just enough space, enough for everything to comfortable, but not an excessive amount of open space left over; like your stacker (which is also a great case). It keeps the actual size of the case down, which may be a consideration for some people. 
 
IMO for ~100 go for the 690II, for slightly more, original HAF, and for even more, 800D. Personally I don't feel the extra $50+ is worth it for the Haf X, might as well spend 100 (compared to original haf) more and get something real nice like the 800d. Not saying the Haf x is bad, it's also a great case, but I find it kind of tacky. 
 
The silverstone TJ07 is my favourite case of all time, but its ridiculously exspensive.  

 

[Jodiuh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ccbass /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
You striped vraptors?  Damn.  But drive failure could be a bitch, unless you backup a lot.  Wouldn't carpeting just hold heat and collect dust?  I mean it looks cool, but isn't it just hurting your PC?

As for OC'ing stuff.  I'm not sure if I want to yet.  I've really lost the OC touch and I haven't done it in so long, I would probably forget something and fry a chip. 

 
They're pretty snappy. I sliced off a 74GB partition so it's using the first 37GB of each drive to store the OS. Since the outside of the platter moves quicker, it increases sustained xfer rates about 25% and lowers random access times about 15%. It still feels like kicking sand around compared to a newer SSD though. Backup's a non issue because only OS files are stored there. I'll do monthly backups, but no important data would be lost because it's all on the mirror.
 
Because there's so much air flow in the case, dust's kept to a minimum. A quick burst of air per month's all that's needed. And even then, there's not much dust to clean anyway. The foam's quite thin and flat, there's no threads for dust to fall into as the word "carpeting" might suggest. From memory, I believe it did increase temps, but only slightly. Certainly not enough to lower an overclock.
 
Honestly, clocking's not that difficult if you look through some guides. Here's a decent place to get started for the latest Intel chips. Then just pick a forum like hardforum, overclock.net, xtremesystems.org, ocforums, etc and you'll more than likely find topics for your board and your chip (or one close to it.) For the X58/930 setup, it took me about 30 minutes to get a working 4.0Ghz clock stable w/ 20 rounds of LinX maxed out. And the best part's that a good board will allow you to run the chip @ it's default clocks and voltages when it's idling as well as providing reliable S3 power states. It's pretty hard to screw up some hardware if you spend time researching first.
 
     Quote:

I'm wary of the benefits of striping anyways, most usage cases don't benefit from crazy sequential read speeds.

Windows boots up quite a bit quicker and games load faster too.

If I'm stuck w/ mechanicals for now, I'm gonna do whatever I can!
 
Quote:

The 690v2 is not cramped. I switched from an antec 900 to the 690 II advanced, its better in almost every way imo.

 
Here's some images from my CM690v1 build...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/jodiuh/Cases/IMG_2121-1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/jodiuh/Cases/IMG_2119-1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/jodiuh/Cases/IMG_2117-1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/jodiuh/Cases/IMG_2097-1.jpg

And the Stacker 810...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/jodiuh/Stacker%20810%20Black/810lanpartyp35.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/jodiuh/Stacker%20810%20Black/IMG_2186.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/jodiuh/Stacker%20810%20Black/IMG_2866.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/jodiuh/Stacker%20810%20Black/IMG_2865.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/jodiuh/Stacker%20810%20Black/IMG_3165.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/jodiuh/Stacker%20810%20Black/IMG_2890.jpg
 
I don't see how you can describe the CM690 as anything but cramped after looking at those pictures. A bigger case allows for more room which  makes a case much easier to deal with. It gives space for more fans or whatever else you wanna fit in there. It's taller and easier to hit the power button or reach the optical drive. And with wheels it's a cinch to move around. For LAN's, I use one of the larger Thermaltake carrying straps, so that's not even an issue. Unless there's a budget concern or you lack a gym membership, I see no reason to go w/ something smaller like the CM690 or even worse the 900...yuck.
 
     Quote:

If anyone thinks my suggestions are not good, go ahead and correct me I have not used all of those cases...just most of them (building computers for other people).

 
With the exception of the 900/1200 recommendations, everything else seems fine. They were ok on release, but there are better options now. And they've got updated towers in the Dark Fleet line. The P183's a wonderful option provided your not tossing a pair of 480's in there. It's incredibly quiet and IMO much better looking than something like my butt ugly Stacker or even their newer 690's or Haf's.