[GoRedwings19]

Slightly off topic but which cpu heatsink/fan combo is the quitest and the most effective at cooling.

While the G-power would suffice I just wondered if there are more efficient and quieter solutions.

GS did you get a soundcard or did you stick with the motherboard on boards sound

 

[gsferrari]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoRedwings19 Slightly off topic but which cpu heatsink/fan combo is the quitest and the most effective at cooling. While the G-power would suffice I just wondered if there are more efficient and quieter solutions. GS did you get a soundcard or did you stick with the motherboard on boards sound

Quiet cooling - go with passive cooling - or do the Oil mod

I stuck with the motherboard onboard sound but I am noticing performance hits whenever there are complex sounds in a game...time to get a sound card to handle the processing I guess...

This is in my backup desktop - I will get the soundcard into the main rig...backup rig can suffer a bit...no probs

Creative X-Fi baby!!!

 

[GoRedwings19]

I ordered one of those X-fi soundcards for game use. So hopefully it will be somewhat decent.

 

[xSolsticex]

For relative silence, I would say either a XP90 + 92mm Panaflo or one of the Zalman coolers. For real silence, you'll need to look into water or phase, which sounds like either of those are out of your budget.

 

[Kwisatz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by xSolsticex For relative silence, I would say either a XP90 + 92mm Panaflo or one of the Zalman coolers. For real silence, you'll need to look into water or phase, which sounds like either of those are out of your budget.

Why go 90mm when the XP-120 would allow a larger (and thus slower for same cfm) fan with higher general passive cooling ability as well. Alternatively the Scythe Ninja as I've stated before is at least as effective as the XP-120, cheaper, and easier to install. Water cooling can be quieter than regular air cooling, but really its a matter of transfering noise from one area to another. You have fans on the radiator then instead of on the heatsink. Granted you can have a huge passive radiator, but most water cooling is done using radiators that require airflow over them - and thus the noise that goes with it. The saving grace is the fact that the higher efficiency of the large radiators can allow lower CFM yet again, which thus reduces noise.

As for a phase-change cooling solution... I'll admit I've never heard one, but the concept behind them makes me doubt very much that they are going to be quiet - or anywhere close to it. There's a freaking compressor involved! Its like a mini AC/refrigerator unit... Not exactly what I think of when I think of quiet.

 

[xSolsticex]

I guess I havent really kept up on HSF advancement for Skt939. Last I remember, XP120s were having some quality problems and I was turned off by how much horizontal space they took up.

And phase is not as loud as a refridgerator. From what I have read, MachII's are loud upon startup but become nearly silent afterwards (with only fan noise). Vapo's are louder than MachII's. Im not a phase expert, so if more exact advice is needed youd probably be better of asking someone with more experience than I have.

 

[marscay]

don't go phase change is you're worried about sound levels lol

they're for performance cooling and as such is a fair bit louder than low rpm 120mm air cooling.

i've used a mach-ii and currently have a vapochill LS. when the vapo is on i can't hear my 2nd rig which has a mid-range CFM on a XP-120.

but getting the x2 3800+ to 3.1ghz is worth the noise

 

[sonance]

.Double post.

 

[sonance]

The X-Fi should be a good choice with latest drivers and BIOS updates (there were some issues with some NF4 boards earlier, but the situation appears to be mostly resolved.)
When I use onboard audio I sometimes see my average frame rate dip by 5-10fps, depending on the game, and its audibly worse even when playing games.
The 7800GT is a very good choice. Ocassionally you will need to turn down the resoltuion, AA, AF or detail settings, but I'm sure you'll find a good combination of settings in most games. As others have pointed out, you can always add a second 7800GT if you like, still have spent less than a single 7800GTX 512 and the performance will be better in 90% of all current games where the GPU is a bottleneck.
The latest generation of games are real GPU/CPU killers. Personally I think some of this is due to sloppy programming, or a misguided use of effects which don't always equal an overall improvement in "graphics" - to use it as an umbrella term. F.E.A.R. is a good example - it looks very good, but trails the much older HL2 in texture, model and level design quality, even though it uses some very cool looking effects. I think the performance trade-offs are poor in this game.
Based on the games you said you like, I recommend you give Call of Duty 2 a shot - great eye candy and an awesome game play experience, very much in line with MOH.
To me the visual benchmark on the PC currently is the single HDR level for Half-Life 2 called 'The Lost Coast.' When I play this at my 24" monitors maximum (native) resolution, I see some slowdown, but at any lower resolution it's smooth as butter and the overall quality of the graphics surpasses everything else, including the other Source games that use HDR.
Good luck with the new PC, I'm sure its going to be a lot of gaming fun!

 

[GoRedwings19]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sonance Good luck with the new PC, I'm sure its going to be a lot of gaming fun!

See ya on the battlefield sir...and thanks for the advice as well

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gsferrari Quiet cooling - go with passive cooling - or do the Oil mod I stuck with the motherboard onboard sound but I am noticing performance hits whenever there are complex sounds in a game...time to get a sound card to handle the processing I guess... This is in my backup desktop - I will get the soundcard into the main rig...backup rig can suffer a bit...no probs Creative X-Fi baby!!!

Wel you won't need to worry about this with the main desktop. The Karajan module of the DFI board has been shown to have much lower CPU useage, more along the lines of a dedicated card, I think I saw this tested at anandtech, go check it out!

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JahJahBinks 500W is the minimum requirement.

Be careful there. There are many 500W units in use which have a much lower maximum total amperage capacity on the +12V rail than do some 350W units.

 

[GoRedwings19]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eagle_Driver Be careful there. There are many 500W units in use which have a much lower maximum total amperage capacity on the +12V rail than do some 350W units.

There was a a lab test of 30 PSU's in a uk magazine publication. You would of been suprised at the results.

Most hardly supplied the ATX power supply regulations, quite a few didn't come close and a few blew up when pushed to it rated wattage.