Rec'd Cooling for E8400+GTX 260+P182

Matthew55 · Post by **Matthew55** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 1:19 pm

First of all, thanks to all of you in the SPCR community for testing and sharing your experiences! Although this is my first post, SPCR has been a great resource to me for many years.

I'm looking to upgrade/buy a new system to replace my P180/X2-3800 rig as my primary (mostly silent) gaming machine. So far I'm looking at:

Case: Antec P182 w/ stock fans
PS: Corsair 650TX or Seasonic S12 (550 or 650W) Energy Plus
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 (plan to OC to 4 GHz)
MB: Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P
Video: GeForce GTX 260 Core 216
Extras: 6-8 x Seagate HDDs, 3Ware RAID controller, SB X-Fi

I'm not sure which GTX 260 card I should get and whether or not I should use a third-party VGA cooler as I have in the past. As for the CPU, I'm considering a Scythe Ninja Mini or Asus Triton 75 to keep the budget (and weight) down. (also coolers from Thermalright, Xigmatek and Noctura are not readily available from my supplier)

I'd appreciate your suggestions!

Engine · Post by **Engine** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 1:49 pm

I'm working on building a new machine with similar specs. All the CPU coolers I'd recommend are off the table if you can't buy Thermalright, but a Ninja will probably do you well, with the right fan on it. [Overclocking to 4ghz, though, is going to put off serious heat; the GA-EP45-UD3P is a good choice for this, but you'll still need to watch the core temps.]

The GTX260, on the other hand, comes with some challenges. To be brief, I think you've a choice: either buy a 65nm GTX260 like the Asus which came rated highly here, or get a 55nm version and put the Thermalright HR-03 GTX cooler on it...which currently doesn't come with the right RAMsinks to do the job. And if you can't buy Thermalright anyway...well, you may well be better off buying a stock-clocked [or overclocked if you don't mind the extra noise or are willing to put in the effort to change the fan profile] 65nm, because the cooler on the 55nm version just isn't that great. All the things that need cooled are on one side of the card now, though, so at least a single aftermarket cooler with a single source of air can be practical.

On the other hand, 6 to 8 hard drives are probably going to add a lot more to the noise than little details about which GTX260 has the quietest fan at the desktop, so chances are you'll do okay with any reasonable selection of parts.

Matthew55 · Post by **Matthew55** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 3:28 pm

Engine, thanks for your thoughts. I've read that the E8400 is an easy overclock to 4GHz without any voltage increases... anyone here have the same experience? If I have to make a compromise I'd rather not overclock to save money on the HS/fan. That is why I'm leaning towards the Ninja Mini or Triton 75 + fan. I'd just like to know which solution would be best in the same price range.

As for the GTX260, how do I know if a particular board is based on the 65nm or 55nm part? My supplier lists a few to choose from eVGA, Asus, BFG, and MSI. Is the Asus one that was reviewed here based on the newer Core 216?

Engine wrote:On the other hand, 6 to 8 hard drives are probably going to add a lot more to the noise than little details about which GTX260 has the quietest fan at the desktop, so chances are you'll do okay with any reasonable selection of parts.

I have 6 hard drives in my current P180 rig with a Seasonic S12, a Zalman 9500 on the X2-3800 and a Zalman cooler on the OC'ed 7900GT with low to medium fan speeds, and the overall noise is not usually heard over the hum of the refrigerator in the next room. I'd like to achieve similar results with the new machine, but I understand Zalman's coolers aren't so *cool* anymore for the money they cost... what do you think?

Engine · Post by **Engine** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 10:22 am

Matthew55 wrote:As for the GTX260, how do I know if a particular board is based on the 65nm or 55nm part?

Guess?

I buy from Newegg, which usually has the good grace to clearly label things like this [in red text, apart from the description]. There aren't many 55nm parts out there right now; the only ones I know the system for are the EVGA cards; in that case, the cards with a 126x model number are the old 65nm parts, while the 125x cards are the new 55nm parts.

Now, if you can actually see the card, or get your hands on it, it's easy, since the 55nm parts have all the RAM chips on the "down" side of the card, and the shroud needn't thus wrap around the back.

Matthew55 wrote:Is the Asus one that was reviewed here based on the newer Core 216?

The Asus they did here was a 216 core part, I believe, but it was a 65nm part.

Matthew55 wrote:I'd like to achieve similar results with the new machine, but I understand Zalman's coolers aren't so *cool* anymore for the money they cost... what do you think?

Your choices for quiet coolers on the [comparatively hot] GTX260 are slim. You could get the HR-03 GTX, but it won't come with the right RAMsinks, although you could buy them a la carte. [And one presumes they'll update the kit...eventually.] I don't think Zalman sells a cooler for the GTX2xx cards yet, and as you say, their fans have, of late, been of poor quality. I don't think Arctic Cooling has anything for them, either.

My suggestion - it's what I'll be doing - is to buy the card and install it as-is. If it's a bit loud, use one of the various fan-control software to slightly lower its curve, monitoring temps carefully until you're satisfied. If you just can't make it quiet enough, start looking into the HR-03 GTX. But I don't think that'll be a problem; the 260s are pretty quiet, and your disks will drown the idle noise, and probably even the load noise.

edit: Just checked Thermalright's site, and according to them, they'll have a version of the HR-03 GTX for the 55nm parts "soon." Soon for Thermalright is different from what I'd call soon, but at least they're on the case.

Engine · Post by **Engine** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 5:50 am

There is [or soon will be, rather; March availability] finally another option for GTX200 cooling: Arctic Cooling has finally gotten their product ready to go to market; no word yet on whether it'll have the right RAMsinks for the 55nm parts, but if nothing else, it could likely be worked out by an enterprising builder.

It seems like this generation, nVidia's changing things too quickly for the silencing companies to keep up; that may have happened last generation, as well, but I wouldn't have noticed it at the time. I'm probably just spoiled because so much of the last couple generations has actually been essentially the same card, refreshed over and over.

Matthew55 · Post by **Matthew55** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 7:14 pm

Thanks for the comments Engine! I have gone ahead and ordered my new PC...

I took your advice and found a 55nm EVGA GTX 260 Core 216 board for just a few more $ than the 65nm part. I'll use the stock cooler for now and see how that works out. For a CPU cooler I went with the OCZ Vendetta 2 which was on sale and seemed better than the alternatives in the same price range based on what I've read here and elsewhere. I also swapped out the S12-650 for the more modern (and modular) Corsair HX 620W.

Once I have a chance to break-in the new system I'll pass along my impressions!