OC E6600/passive 7950GT/P180

crap73 · Post by **crap73** » Wed Jan 03, 2007 7:56 pm

I'm starting this thread so you guys can help me out with comments/suggestions as I put this thing together.

It'll be my first time building from scratch so you might see some really bad newbie mistakes...

Here's what will be available to put in the P180:

Corsair HX520*
P5B-Deluxe/WiFi
C2D E6600
2x1GB DDR2-800
XFX 7950GT XXX (fanless)
WD Caviar SE16 250GB
Pioneer DVR-111D
Scythe Ninja**
2xNoctua NF-S12-800 120mm
1xNexus Real Silent 120mm
3xAntec TriCool 120mm***
Sunbeam Rheobus

*yeah, i know, i don't need 520W... but i really wanted a modular PSU and the 520W Corsair was cheaper than the 430W Seasonic.

**big gamble with the P5B! hopefully i get one of the lucky boards on which it fits without any tweaking.

***hopefully, i won't need them

============================================

Part 1:

The P180B arrived this morning, but I haven't received most of the stuff that'll go in it yet... the missing parts should be here tomorrow before 9:30AM.
Since I only had the case to play with, it went through surgery:

rear exhaust and middle intake

A lot more will hopefully get done tomorrow, with more pics to comment on!

Thanks for helping out!
=============================================

Bories36 · Post by **Bories36** » Thu Jan 04, 2007 1:50 pm

This is truly the EXACT pc i have planned to build in about a month

Good luck on the building

crap73 · Post by **crap73** » Thu Jan 04, 2007 5:45 pm

UPDATE:

Like I said in my first post, Purolator ALWAYS shows up around 9AM... so this morning I got up at 8, obviously very excited, sat in front of the window with a nice cup of coffee, and waited for Puro.
Well they showed up at 3:30PM!

I think (see why below) I managed to put everything together now!

Scythe Ninja fits nicely over the capacitators of my P5B Deluxe without any tweaking! yeah baby yeah!

Now here's my first newbie error:

I haven't received my monitor yet, and my older LCD doesn't have a DVI cable that'll fit the connectors on my video card!!!!!!
So I can't test anything until I receive my monitor... which is on backorder!!!

Well, I guess I'll buy a VGA to DVI adaptor tomorrow... $15 down the drain...

PopCorn · Post by **PopCorn** » Thu Jan 04, 2007 5:52 pm

lol doesnt it seem like your packages always arive the same time except that ONE time you get up early to be ready to get your stuff...... once i waited from 9am till like 8pm when i gave up hope to realize it was a holiday

Jarrett · Post by **Jarrett** » Thu Jan 04, 2007 6:04 pm

I really want to buy the Corsair too. I realize it is overpowered but it is so bloody quiet!! 22db up to 300w is sick

I'd recommend you go for the 320GB model of the SE16. Both models have 3 platters except the 320GB uses higher density ones.

crap73 · Post by **crap73** » Thu Jan 04, 2007 6:58 pm

Jarrett wrote:I really want to buy the Corsair too. I realize it is overpowered but it is so bloody quiet!! 22db up to 300w is sick

I'd recommend you go for the 320GB model of the SE16. Both models have 3 platters except the 320GB uses higher density ones.

I really wanted the 320GB, but it was out of stock when I ordered the rest of my components and the 250GB happened to be on sale so I went with it.
I'll probably get a small external drive in a couple weeks to make me happy again...

fairfax · Post by **fairfax** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 8:13 am

Hi Crap, great work hope to see your completed pics soon

I am using the P180 as well, just want to ask you what did you use for cutting out the grills, and what is the black lining stuff you used for the back vent.

Thanks

Fairfax

crap73 · Post by **crap73** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 1:31 pm

hmmm...

so i got the DVI>VGA adaptor this morning and finished setting it up.

i'm a little worried now:
with one exhaust fan in the back (noctua) and one middle intake fan (nexus) my CPU idles at 53 according to speedfan... isn't that pretty high? i was hoping for mid-40s.

i'm gonna try different fan combinations to see what works best... any suggestions would be appreciated!

oh... should have mentioned, i did OC my e6600 to 3.0GHz...

EDIT:
-with a Noctua clipped on the Ninja, CPU idles at 46.
-with a Noctua as top exhaust and Ninja fanless, CPU idles at 49.
EDIT2:
-with 2 noctua exhaust (back and top) and middle nexus, I get 70C under full load... need to get this down...

PopCorn · Post by **PopCorn** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 2:22 pm

yea thats alittle warm... i have a overclocked cpu (forgot what it was) ... oced to 2.8... stock at 2.3.... idles around 32c.... 48c on load

crap73 · Post by **crap73** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 5:17 pm

took out the ninja and put it back in, set the BIOS to default setting.

now I get 32 idle in CoreTemp, 37 in SpeedFan and 52 under 100% load in Core Temp, 57 in SpeedFan

thats with just the 2 exhaust fans. If i shut off the top exhaust, temp goes up 2 degrees.

cmthomson · Post by **cmthomson** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 5:34 pm

To fully stress the CPU, you need to run TAT. It also reports the on-die temperatures, and whether there is throttling (you won't see any below 80C).

crap73 · Post by **crap73** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 6:03 pm

I'm using Orthos as stress test...

Any idea why my temps go up nearly 20degrees when I OC @3.0GHz??

crap73 · Post by **crap73** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 9:24 pm

As suggested, I installed TAT.

After trying out different things in the bios all evening, I think I'll stick with this for a while:

E6600 @ 3.1GHz (9x345)
vCore @ 1.3250v set in BIOS
Idle @ 40C [37]
75% Load @ 51C [50]
100% Load @ 61C [59]
Back Noctua (exhaust) @ 800RPM
Ninja mounted Nexus @ 1000RPM

EDIT: after a night of burning in the AC5, temps are down a bit, see temps in brackets.

TAT stress test has been running for 30min... so far so good... will leave it running through the night.

The temps are somewhat higher than I initially expected, but after browsing through other forums, it seems like those are average marks.
Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with the rig so far... with only the 2 fans running, it's quiet enough that I can't ear it unless i put my head behind the case.
Only disappointment really is the Pioneer drive... i had read good reviews on this unit's sound level... maybe mine has a problem... it's LOUD!!

I'll put the GPU to work tomorrow. Can't wait to see how it will behave in terms of temps. Likely I'll have to run a 3rd fan in there.

Any GPU test recommendations besides 3DMARK?

crap73 · Post by **crap73** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 8:44 am

GPU testing:

Remember this is the XXX edition, which is a factory OC to 1.6/610

1xNoctua rear exhaust
1xNexus on Ninja
E6600 @ 3.1GHz

3DMark score 6090
SM 2.0 score 2420
SM 3.0 score 2389
CPU score 2633

Idle GPU: 51C
Idle CPU: 37C

Highest CPU temp during CPU tests: 55C
Highest CPU temp during GPU tests: 46C
Highest GPU temp during GPU tests: 76C

crap73 · Post by **crap73** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 12:13 pm

Ok i'm think i'm done with this

I left the 4 fans inside (1 noctua back, 1 noctua top, 1 nexus HSF, 1 scythe middle), but i only run the back noctua and the HSF.
I expect temps to go up quite a lot come summer time so they're already plugged into my rheobus and ready for action!

The cabling wasn't easy... that's the best i could do!
Rheobus is on the top slot while my optical drive is in the lower one.
When i remove the expansion slot covers, you can see there's no obstruction to airflow from the front of the case to the Ninja.

back and front views... not much to say about that...

I modded the leds of my rheobus, which like others have said are far too bright. I took this picture to show the difference...
The 2 left leds are undervolted with a 10Kohm resistor and the 2 on the right were left untuched but not fully inserted in their socket.
The difference is a lot more notable than what the picture shows.

@Fairfax: sorry i didn't reply to your post earlier... i hadn't seen it!

To cut the grills, i used a Mastercraft dremel.
The black lining is door molding I found in the car accessories section at Canadian Tire.
It's very flexible so it goes on easily and it has some sticky tape inside so it stays in place. You don't have to heat it or anything.

comments/suggestions are very welcome!

LucIyer · Post by **LucIyer** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 3:49 pm

How's your harddrive temp? I have the same one, and while being quiet it also runs a little bit warm

Yours too?

cmthomson · Post by **cmthomson** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 7:29 pm

A few comments.

TAT is best for stressing the CPU and cooling, since it uses all the CPU pipelines to make it run hot.

Orthos is best for stability testing, since it hammers the CPU and the memory, and checks its results. It runs cooler than TAT, but gives a better indication of whether your system will be reliable.

60C running TAT at 100% is excellent. In fact, more cooling than really required.

I guess you've already determined this, but you don't need all four of those fans. The fan on the Nexus will keep the CPU cool, and you really only need one exhaust fan. Unless the intake fan is needed to keep the video card cool, you probably don't need it either.

crap73 · Post by **crap73** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 8:13 pm

thanks for the input TM! i didn't really know what was the difference between Orthos and TAT.

So far i've only used the 2 fans you mentioned in all my testings, and I plan to only use the 2 in the near future.
Ambient temp reaches >30C during hot summer days, which is why I want to keep more fans inside... mostly worried about the GPU.

However I've noticed no temp difference whatsoever when i run the top fan.
Plus, the Scythe is pretty noisy compared to the 3 others... so I might replace the Scythe with the Noctua that is currently in top exhaust position (unused) and get rid of the Scythe, keeping only 3 fans inside the case (2 running, 1 spare for summer).

@LucIyer: my WD runs a bit on the warm side too ~41C during normal use. I was copying a whole bunch of files earlier today and it ran at 46C the whole time. Nothing that will make me lose sleep though.

[F]bernZ · Post by **[F]bernZ** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 10:40 pm

Be glad you don't have the temperature reporting bug firmware. Mine runs at '60 degrees C' idle. I believe it should be about a 20C miscalibration because the hard drive does seem warmer than my hand does.

This hard drive isn't that quiet really.. I can hear it over all my fans [One 120mm at ~800rpm, one 80mm @ 1600 which surprisingly runs COMPLETELY SILENT. I can't hear it at when I jumper my PSU and stop the PSU fan]. It just has that presence.. Its not that obtrusive.. but the noise is definitely there.

dnoiz · Post by **dnoiz** » Mon Jan 08, 2007 6:20 am

crap73 wrote: ...
E6600 @ 3.1GHz (9x345)
vCore @ 1.2500v
Idle @ 40C [37]
75% Load @ 51C [50]
100% Load @ 61C [59]
Back Noctua (exhaust) @ 800RPM
Ninja mounted Nexus @ 1000RPM
...

cmthomson wrote: ...
60C running TAT at 100% is excellent. In fact, more cooling than really required.
...

Well I've the exact same setup as discussed here, but on an Antec SOLO case and an Artic Cooling Freezer Pro 7 on the CPU and I get temps below 50 (celcius) when using TAT. CPU @ 3Ghz, vcore @ 1,23. Only one tricool fan @ low as exhaust. The CPU fan speed is set using Speedfan, and I'm not going over 1800rpm so the box stays silent - usually it runs around 1000rpm for daily usage / gaming.

I would've thought that the P180 and a Scythe headsink would do better then that.

R.

n00btard · Post by **n00btard** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 2:41 pm

if I saw this thread earlier, I would've sent one of two DVI~VGA adapters I have lying around... I feel so bad now.

s_xero · Post by **s_xero** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 3:46 pm

For you guys with ASUS MoBo's - the boards are known to sometimes report weird values.

@ Crap73

You really should tape the holes around the PSU - helps a lot. It was performed in the P180-review "All nine yards" or something like that.

S.

P.S.I pushed the little tape on the insides to maintain the good look