Should I run this in a P150...

WATYF · Post by **WATYF** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 6:28 pm

I'm looking at building the following machine:

Asus A8N-E
Athlon X2 4600+
1GB OCZ (PC3200) RAM
Geforce 7900GT
WD Raptor 150GB

..is this something that I can run succesfully in a P150. Are there issues with this motherboard and the P150 PSU (or have those all been fixed)?

I haven't decided on the HS/F yet, so suggestions on that are welcome... I just want to make sure that this is a rig than could easily run cool and quiet in the P150. (Suggestions on alternate components are also welcome.)

Let me know your thoughts. Thanks.

WATYF

stukovx · Post by **stukovx** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 9:35 pm

with all those high end parts, I say upgrade to a 2gb kit. Like everyone else here will say, the scythe ninja is a good heatsink(even though I have the si-120=P)

WATYF · Post by **WATYF** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 10:04 pm

Do you mean, go with 2GB of RAM instead??

And I saw the SPCR review of the P150 where they used the Ninja on a P4 dual core and the load temps got to 76 (or so). I realize the X2's run cooler than the P4's, but still... I'm hesitant to use a cooling solution that might not bear the load that I put on my machines. I'm willing to go with a (quiet) fan solution for the HS/F.

WATYF

darthan · Post by **darthan** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 10:33 pm

SPCR has yet to find a better low airflow heatsink than the Ninja and the Thermalright tower so if you want quiet, those are probably winners. As far as the PSU goes, well, I've heard they fixed the compatability issues but I don't know for sure.

WATYF · Post by **WATYF** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 10:54 pm

Does anyone know if the Ninja fits in the P150 for sure?

WATYF

derekva · Post by **derekva** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 11:18 pm

WATYF wrote:Does anyone know if the Ninja fits in the P150 for sure?

WATYF

To quote Moon Unit Zappa, "Fer sure, fer sure".

The Scythe Ninja fits without any clearance issues in the P150 (I have one running under my desk right now).

-Derek (needs to update .sig file)

Post by **MikeC** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 1:00 am

WATYF wrote:And I saw the SPCR review of the P150 where they used the Ninja on a P4 dual core and the load temps got to 76 (or so).

Read more carefully: Only when the HS was run w/o a fan on it. With a Nexus 120 at 7V, it stayed at a quite reasonable 62C at full load.

A Core Duo will be quite nice, btw. There will be some pretty high end mobos for them.

WATYF · Post by **WATYF** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 6:52 am

MikeC wrote:
WATYF wrote:And I saw the SPCR review of the P150 where they used the Ninja on a P4 dual core and the load temps got to 76 (or so).
Read more carefully: Only when the HS was run w/o a fan on it. With a Nexus 120 at 7V, it stayed at a quite reasonable 62C at full load.

A Core Duo will be quite nice, btw. There will be some pretty high end mobos for them.

Hi Mike... sorry I didn't specify... yeah, I was talking about running the ninja passively... as fas as I know, it doesn't come with a fan (right?), so I assumed that was the most common way that they were installed.

I'm not sure I follow your Core Duo comment. Are you talking about the upcoming Conroe Core Duos? If so, I thought about waiting for those, but I'd really like to have the system sooner than that (Q3 or later).

WATYF

Post by **MikeC** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 7:49 am

Got this thread confused with another I was reading at the same time. So much for multitasking.

Ignore the Core Duo comment, carry on with your sys, it'll work fine.

FYI, a x2-4600+ runs about half as hot as the Intel 670.

WATYF · Post by **WATYF** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 8:05 am

No problem man... thanks for the input. I think I'll go with the P150/Ninja setup.

Now I just gotta figure out what to use to cool the GPU.

WATYF

Post by **MikeC** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 8:17 am

WATYF wrote:Now I just gotta figure out what to use to cool the GPU.

One of the bigger Zalman fanless HS should do fine.

WATYF · Post by **WATYF** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 9:27 am

MikeC wrote:
WATYF wrote:Now I just gotta figure out what to use to cool the GPU.
One of the bigger Zalman fanless HS should do fine.

Are you talking about the ZM80D-HP? If so, is there a newer/better option out there... I've read a few reports of people using the ZM80D with the 7900GT and getting temps a little higher than I'm comfortable with (or even frying their card).

WATYF

Post by **MikeC** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 9:31 am

Sorry, I'm making a mess of posts here... Should not have used the word "fanless" -- I meant one of the new models like vf700/900.

Landroval · Post by **Landroval** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 9:46 am

I would leave the over-priced 4600+ to the shop and pick a 4400+ or Opteron 165 (both with 2x1MB L2) which are much better value.

And btw, the fan on the mobo will have to be changed, or better the whole mobo changed to something passive, like Abit KN8-SLI.

WATYF · Post by **WATYF** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 10:20 am

Landroval wrote:I would leave the over-priced 4600+ to the shop and pick a 4400+ or Opteron 165 (both with 2x1MB L2) which are much better value.

And btw, the fan on the mobo will have to be changed, or better the whole mobo changed to something passive, like Abit KN8-SLI.

I appreciate the input. I went back and forth on that one a few times. I looked into the Opterons and considered getting the 4400+ instead, but the +4600 is noticeably faster for the applications I will specifically be using this system for, so I figure it's worth the extra ~100 bucks.

As for the mobo, I can always switch out the NB fan... I have to stick to this model because of it's proven compatibility with a specific software suite I'm using.

WATYF

Landroval · Post by **Landroval** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 10:49 am

I dont know what's your opinion on overclocking, but the 4600+ is basically an oc'ed 3800+. Most people call this factory overclocking, and see no reason to pay anything for it.

WATYF · Post by **WATYF** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 11:12 am

Landroval wrote:I dont know what's your opinion on overclocking, but the 4600+ is basically an oc'ed 3800+. Most people call this factory overclocking, and see no reason to pay anything for it.

I understand. I really prefer not to overclock if I can help it. My system's most important requirement is unwavering stability (thus only picking certain mobo's and what not). If I was just a gamer looking to ramp up my fps, then I probably wouldn't be opposed to the idea.

WATYF

Landroval · Post by **Landroval** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 12:20 pm

Ok. In reality there will be no stability difference between 4600+ and 3800+@4600+. But yeah, it's your setup so if oc'ing makes you uneasy, go for the faster models. I'd still recommend the bigger cache, lower price 4400+ though.

lloydo · Post by **lloydo** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 8:33 pm

WATYF wrote:I was talking about running the ninja passively... as fas as I know, it doesn't come with a fan (right?), so I assumed that was the most common way that they were installed.

In Australia, it seems you can't get Ninjas without a Scythe fan:
http://www.pccasegear.com/prod2634.htm

P.S. Has anyone tested the model above the Ninja? (I think it's called Shogun).

Felger Carbon · Post by **Felger Carbon** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 11:23 pm

lloydo wrote:Has anyone tested the model above the Ninja? (I think it's called Shogun).

I have 2 Ninjas and a Shogun (among other coolers). I bought the Shogun first, and used it a lot with different fans when I was back in learning mode.

The Shogun is a fine cooler with 52 fins, vs 23 fins on the Ninja. That means it takes some pressure to move air through the closely spaced fins. So passive cooling is out, and the Shogun works best with fans running 1200RPM and up. Fortunately, I use very cool 90nm socket 754 AMD CPUs that need little cooling, so the Shogun is usable with really slow and quiet fans with my CPUs.

The reason I went to the Ninjas is that air can pass in any horizontal direction thru the Ninja. The Shogun, on my mobo, wants to direct air into the PSU instead of the exhaust fan. This is inefficient. On a different mobo that allows the Shogun to direct air to the exhaust fan (and there are some mobos that do), the Shogun is a fine HSF (if expensive).

It is possible, with a lot of elbow grease, to rotate the Shogun 90 degrees to point in the right direction. But I'm too lazy for that, and experiment with my system too much to go to that much work every time.

WATYF · Post by **WATYF** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 11:00 am

Landroval wrote:Ok. In reality there will be no stability difference between 4600+ and 3800+@4600+. But yeah, it's your setup so if oc'ing makes you uneasy, go for the faster models. I'd still recommend the bigger cache, lower price 4400+ though.

OK... you may have convinced me. I might go with the 4400+ and overclock it to 4800+ specs (2.4)... which is a modest overclock at best.

This doesn't really change my initial question, though (regarding the P150 and how to cool this system).

WATYF

DrCR · Post by **DrCR** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 8:30 pm

Cooling your GPU, you could look into the Thermalright designs. V-1 and V-1 Ultra.

Have fun putting your rig together. Landroval is right though. The only difference between a factory overclock is how much money you give them. The performance is the same and lifetime is the same.

Just some OC advice if you're new to it. Crank up your fans and find the max OC or the max OC your temperatures will allow (or near max if you are getting uncomfortable). Then run it at the more mild OC you require. I can understand your fear of OCing, but a mild OC doesn't seem bad at all when you know it has more head room and you aren't "maxing it out".

DrCR

WATYF · Post by **WATYF** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 8:35 pm

From eveything I've read, a 2.4GHz OC for the 4400+ is well within its limits... and I'm not looking to push it any further than that... I should essentially be getting 4800+ performance at that speed.

WATYF

DrCR · Post by **DrCR** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 8:41 pm

Why not max it out? Can you tell your customer you can meet a deadline because you fired your cpu ocing it?

WATYF · Post by **WATYF** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 6:41 am

DrCR wrote:Why not max it out? Can you tell your customer you can meet a deadline because you fired your cpu ocing it?

It would be even worse, since chances are the client would be standing right there when my system goes up in smoke.

WATYF

DrCR · Post by **DrCR** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 3:20 pm

WATYF wrote:It would be even worse, since chances are the client would be standing right there when my system goes up in smoke.

Sounds like a great way to develop customer loyalty.