Cooling and PSU advice for a gaming PC build

Urban Reflex · Post by **Urban Reflex** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 5:52 pm

Hiya folks. Been a bit of a lurker for a while, but I need some advice so I thought now would be the time to sign up and post! How're you all doing?

Okay, so I'm building a new computer. It's primarily a gaming computer, so performance is my number one concern (though I won't be overclocking), and acoustics are secondary. That being said, I own an Xbox 360 and I don't want my PC to be that loud! My component list is as follows:

Case: Antec Solo
PSU: PC Power & Cooling 750W
Motherboard: Asus Maximus Extreme
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 (3Ghz, 1333Mhz FSB, 65W)
RAM: 4GB Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1600Mhz
GPU: BFG 8800GTX OC2
HDD: WD Raptor 150GB for OS / games + probably a 250GB for other storage
DVD: LG GGC-H20L BluRay / HD DVD / DVDRW

Now, I'll split the rest of the post into sections for less confusion:

A. I've had a look around and the Thermalright Ultima-90 heatsink looks pretty good to me. The only thing is, I'm not sure if it'll fit in the Solo case with the Asus motherboard. I don't suppose anyone can confirm this either way? Or recommend a heatsink that's smaller but does a similar job. I'll be actively cooling it with probably a 92mm fan, so any recommendations on that front would be appreciated also.

B: The case (as I'm sure most of you are aware) has one 120mm exhaust fan on the back, and two 92mm intake fans on the front. Considering how I'm actively cooling the CPU, they don't need to be powerful at all, so what are the quietest 120mm and 92mm fans out there at the moment that'll do the job?

C: Finally, anyone had any experience with the power supply I'm planning on using? I know it isn't whisper quiet but I've been running a PC with an inadequate power supply for the last few years and don't really want to continue starving my new baby!

Thanks for your advice guys. Looking forward to your wisdom

ck8-04 · Post by **ck8-04** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 6:28 pm

If you want your system to be decently quiet, the first thing I would ditch is the PSU. PC P&C supplies are not known for silence, but rather their rock solid stability. For the system you specify, a Corsair 520HX would be more than adequate. Secondly, you have a choice: 8800GTX or Antec Solo. The GTX will not fit in the Solo. If it were me, I'd ditch the GTX in favor of a GT or a 512MB GTS. Either one would perform similarly or better than the GTX while being smaller and consuming less power. Third, from my experience, the 150GB is nowhere near as quiet as its 2 smaller brothers. The idle noise is audible and the seeks are nowhere near quiet. If you want a Raptor, I'd suggest the 74GB version or less and a bigger storage drive. Fourth, I have the Solo and the Ultra 120 Extreme and the heatsink fits just fine.

Urban Reflex · Post by **Urban Reflex** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 3:45 pm

PSU: You sure 520W will be enough? One of the web calculators reckoned I required about 600W of power, and I know they're based on rather high load temps but to be fair I've no idea how hard gaming pushes components in terms of wattage suckage. According to reviews the PCP&C is only 2-3 dB louder than the Corsair PSUs on comparable power draw levels.

GPU: Argh, I don't want to make this choice. I didn't realise the 8800 GTX was that big. I knew it was big but Jesus. The Radeon HD 3870X2 looks pretty good, but I think waiting to see what the GeForce 9 series is like will be my best bet. I'll probably add the GPU at a later date when those are out. Hopefully one will be small enough to prevent me taking a saw to my HDD cage

HDD: Looking on SPCR's own recommended hard drive list, the Raptor 150GB is only 1 dB louder than my current Samsung SP8020N. Is it the type of noise rather than the level of it?

Fan/heatsink: Sounds good. What motherboard are you using (so I can compare socket locations)? And how about the case/CPU fans on your Solo?

Thanks for your reply my friend, I really appreciate the advice

ck8-04 · Post by **ck8-04** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 7:18 pm

PSU: Yes, I am positive. Read here and here. I can also add to that my own experiences if need be, but there is a huge misconception among gamers and PC builders of how much power a desktop gaming computer really draws. Those power calculators are BS. According to one of them, my system needs 500 watts of power under 100% load (E6700 with 8800GT) when I have a friend who's running an 8800GTS with an overclocked E6600 on a 380 watt Seasonic. I recall someone once said that if car manufacturers developed cars using those kinds of overestimations, we'd have cars with 2 kHP engines and one foot thick sheet metal for the body.

HDD: I can't speak for the normal 150GB Raptor, but the Raptor X really isn't quiet. I'd suggest you listen to it first. If you do decide on the 150GB Raptor, avoid the windowed version.

Fan/heatsink: Intel D975XBX2 and I'm running 2 Scythe S-Flex 800 RPMs: one for heatsink and one for exhaust. Other than that, there are no other fans in my system except for the power supply fan.[/url]

darkb · Post by **darkb** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 1:26 am

DON'T GET THAT MOTHERBOARD.. Seriously, my mate bought that board and that ram, and it's been hell trying to make it work.
It is not stable even at default settings in a case with 2x 2000rpm 120mm fans.
The northbridge cooling is inadequate with air.

He had to buy a watercooling kit to cool the northbridge, which meant he needed a bigger case, so he got antec P182.
The mobo only just fits in the P182.. it's wider then usual.

Also, the pipes on the northbridge cooler are smaller than the pipes used in the kit, so we had to use the provided adapters.
The pipes provided to use with the adapters is about 1mm thick and the clamps provided failed after 2 days,
with water spraying onto the mobo and his 8800GTX while it was on (somehow they survived though).

Even with all this effort, and spending more than the cost of the mobo on the extra case and watercooling kit..
He still cant make his system stable at the 400fsb setting required to make the ram run at it's rated speed..
Because he wants the cpu at 3.6ghz, and the flow of the water is restricted by haveing to go through the nirthbridge cooler,
which has pipes which are about half the internal diameter of the ones used in the watercooling kit.

He has this setup with a E6850. I have an abit IP35 pro, with an E6750 and 2gb of cheap kingston ram and a thermalright ultra 120 extreme with a scythe slipstream fan at 800rpm. At the same cpu frequency and voltage, his watercooling setup keeps his cpu at 64 degrees (with both porvided 120mm fans on the radiator at full blast, making alot of noise). Mine sits on 58 after a few hours load.. both were in the same room with the aircon on climate control at 22 degrees. We both have 8800GTX's with stock cooling.

There's about 10% difference in speed between his ram at rated speed and mine at 900 CL5. Compared to the 2000% difference in price, I'd say it's not worth it.

IMO ur much better off getting some decent ddr2 ram and a P35 based mobo, and mating it with a Ultra 120 eXtreme and some nice quiet fans.
I'd also recommend the Corsair HX520W power supply, i'm really happy with mine, and it seems to be recommended here.

Urban Reflex · Post by **Urban Reflex** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 2:49 pm

I've taken in your advice, and had a look around. I've made the following changes to my set up:

Motherboard: Asus P5E3 Premium
Pretty much exactly the same as the MaxEx feature wise, but looks to be a bit better for air cooling. Gonna keep the Corsair DDR3 though - it's an X48 board so it supports 1600Mhz RAM speeds without overclocking. Only problem is it's not out yet!

PSU: Corsair 620HX (probably...)
If I can't have an 8800GTX in my system, the alternative would definitely be a G92 8800GTS. I've also been thinking about dual GPU set ups, thus why I list the 620HX as "probable". The problem with dual GPU is that I hear the ATI drivers aren't the best, and considering it's not an nForce board I'd be limited to Crossfire rather than SLI. Ultimately, what sort've power PSU would I be looking at for a dual GPU system? I only see the 620HX as being SLI-certified, but I'm guessing that's just marketing slurp and any powerful enough PSU with the right number of PCIE connectors can run Crossfire?

And as for the following...

HDD: Aye, the Raptor X is a joke. I've never been a voyeur where my computer is concerned, the bits and pieces on the inside just don't interest me. I had a listen to the sound files on SPCR and I reckon it won't be too noticable with the hum of the graphics card(s) in there.

Cooling: The Noctua NFS12 (1200RPM) looks to be the best fan for 120mm; so I was thinking of using one of those for exhaust and two Noiseblocker XE1's (1400RPM) for intake at the front. Scythe's 92mm fans are rated pretty loud on their website, I assume you're using 120mm ones yeah? Also, been looking at reviews of the Scythe Mini Ninja too and it seems to perform better than the Ultima-90 (and comes with an 80mm fan), so I'll probably swap that over too.

seraphyn · Post by **seraphyn** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 3:24 pm

Your PSU would handle Crossfire / SLI just fine. You could probably do with a 520 even. My HX520 also has a SLI certified mark on it, a mate of mine is running a q6600 and 2x 3870 without problems with the same PSU.

Urban Reflex · Post by **Urban Reflex** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 4:29 pm

I have just learned of the ULTIMATE motherboard (at least for me).

http://www.tweaktown.com/news/8434/index.html

nForce 790i, with DDR3 and SLI capability. Originally I wanted a 780i until I learned it wasn't DDR3 capable, so now I'm gonna put the whole project on hold until this is released in the second quarter of the year.

Thank you so much for all your advice though guys, it'll all be factored into the system when I do eventually make it