About to build q6600 system - setup advice needed...

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bhuether
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Joined: Sat Sep 22, 2007 9:02 am

About to build q6600 system - setup advice needed...

Post by bhuether » Mon Sep 24, 2007 3:07 pm

I am building a silent system for audio work (recording in same room as computer from about 10'-12' away).

Here are the components I chose:

CPU: core 2 Q6600
MB: ASUS p5K E
Mem: Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX
HD: Western Digital WD2500KS (3 of them)
PSU: Corsair HX620
CPU Heatsink: Thermalright Ultra 120
low rpm fan: Scythe S-FLEX SFF21E (x2)
medium rpm fan: Scythe S-FLEX SFF21D (x2)
video: ASUS EN7300GT (no need for video performance...)
case: Antec p182

I didn't buy the following components because I didn't think they were needed, but please tell me if I was wrong:

1. Chipset heatsink
2. Acoustic foam
3. HD enclosures
4. Fan controller

Now for my questions...

1. I am really not sure how the fans should be set up since I read so many differing views. So what are rules of thumb? Which fans do I definitely need (given my choice of components) and which Scythe fan should go where? I often hear people saying you don't need certain case fans (top on the P182, etc) depending on system specs but not sure what category I fall in. I am not handy with electronics (though I have an MS in Electrical Engineering!) so I am not sure about how to configure the fans to be undervolted, etc. Can that all be done with something like SmartFan?

2. Placement of components in the P182. I have just 2 PCI devices. A high perfrmance audio card (Lynx2) and a high performance audio DSP processor (UAD-1). The UAD-1 is pretty high profile. Where should I place the HDs? I heard the P180 had issues with HDs and large PCI cards. Does the P182 have this problem as well?

3. CPU Heatsink. Unless told otherwise, I was just going to follow instructions (and remove fan and replace with one of the Scythes - which one?)

4. Any other considerations that people often overlook? Any other tips that can help me squeeze out another 1-2 dB?

thanks,

brian

angelkiller
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Post by angelkiller » Mon Sep 24, 2007 3:55 pm

Hi,

Your components are well chosen. My first suggestion would be to cut back on you PSU. A 300W PSU would suffice for your needs. At least, drop down to a Corsair HX 520. Seasonic's and Corsair's 450W model are great choices also. Why do you need three hard drives? In terms of silence, less hard drives generally equate to less noise. How much space do you need? I can't recommend specific drives that are quiet, but I can say that three drives isn't the way to go.

The components you left out are unnecessary unless you are striving for more than "quiet".

1) I can't comment on this.
2) I think the HDD's should go in the lower chamber. The graphics card would go in the blue PCI-E slot, the hotter of your two audio cards goes in the PCI slot above the black PCI-E slot, and the cooler goes in the bottom PCI slot.
3) The Ultra Extreme does not come with a fan and if you were picking a fan to put on it, I'd pick the 1200rpm S-Flex.
4) To further reduce you power consumption, you may want to use a G35 or G33 chipset instead. The G35 has yet to be released but both chipsets have integrated video and surprisingly the G33 with integrated video uses less power than the P35 without video! :o So by going G33, you shave a few watts off the mobo power consumption and eliminate the heat from a graphics card. Just a thought.

Hope this helps.

Edit: Check out this build for ideas.

Wibla
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Post by Wibla » Mon Sep 24, 2007 4:22 pm

I'd get two 500GB samsung instead of the WD drives.

bhuether
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Post by bhuether » Mon Sep 24, 2007 6:08 pm

The hard drive choice is simply based on common practices in audio workstations. 1 drive for apps, one for audio and one for samples to be played back through sampler. Since audio playback (i.e. recorded audio tracks) and sample playback (i.e. audio files used to render sequenced bass, drums, synth parts, etc) are so hard drive intensive, everyone always recommends that there be separate drives for them.

thanks,

brian

quest_for_silence
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Post by quest_for_silence » Tue Sep 25, 2007 12:06 am

angelkiller wrote:surprisingly the G33 with integrated video uses less power than the P35 without video
Can you kindly supply me some links to any reliable source of information about this statement?
Last edited by quest_for_silence on Tue Sep 25, 2007 4:59 am, edited 1 time in total.

bhuether
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Post by bhuether » Tue Sep 25, 2007 2:15 am

Why should I go with the 520W power supply vs 620? I thought for a given system load, a stronger PSU runs cooler/quieter.

thanks,

brian

jaganath
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Post by jaganath » Tue Sep 25, 2007 3:29 am

I thought for a given system load, a stronger PSU runs cooler/quieter.
not true (this has been repeated a million times on SPCR already, but whatever). which will be quieter/cooler depends on the efficiency at a given load and the fan controller. a 750W PSU being run at 250W with a bad fan controller will be noisier than a 450W PSU with a good fan controller (for example the Corsair VX450W/HX520W).

angelkiller
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Post by angelkiller » Tue Sep 25, 2007 6:10 am

quest_for_silence wrote:
angelkiller wrote:The G35 has yet to be released but both chipsets have integrated video and surprisingly the G33 with integrated video uses less power than the P35 without video
Can you kindly supply me some links to any reliable source of information about this statement?
Linky 1.5W isn't that much but considering G33+Video<P35, G33 seems like a more efficient chipset.

As for the OP's HDD's, I'd only go with three if that's the best for what you need. I don't know anything about audio, but just know that three drives won't be the quietest solution.

bhuether
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Joined: Sat Sep 22, 2007 9:02 am

Post by bhuether » Tue Sep 25, 2007 9:11 am

jaganath,

But since the HX620 is supposed to be an excellent system, shouldn't the 620 be the way to go (and will accomodate growth)?

thanks,

brian

jaganath
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Post by jaganath » Tue Sep 25, 2007 9:14 am

But since the HX620 is supposed to be an excellent system, shouldn't the 620 be the way to go (and will accomodate growth)?
your current system draws under 200W. unless the "growth" you have in mind is 2 x HD2900XT, there is no advantage to getting the HX620 (which is also more expensive).

quest_for_silence
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Post by quest_for_silence » Tue Sep 25, 2007 3:12 pm

angelkiller wrote:Linky 1.5W isn't that much but considering G33+Video<P35, G33 seems like a more efficient chipset.
Thank you for your help.

Those data, in my humble opinion, should need to be checked.

I don't know so much about the Bearlake generation, but anway in the termal design guide of the previous Intel 963/965-series chipset is clearly stated that the 965G has an idle power consumption of 10.8w, a TDP of 28w and a Tcase max of 97° C, while the 965P has an idle power consumption of 9.3w, a TDP of 19w and a Tcase max of 102° C. Same Intel however says that disabling the X3000 lower 965G TDP to 19w also.

I'm wondering how the Bearlake series, which is even slightly more power hungry than the previous one, can turn over this logical situation.

Any hint?

Luca

EDIT: checked by myself. Strangely those quoted Bearlake's data are exactly what Intel says. Moreover, Intel states that disabling the X3100 (quite similar to X3000) would raise G33 TDP up to 16w (!!!). G33 has better Tcase max (106° C vs 100° C) and almost identical power consumption at idle (5.75w vs 5.9w), with reference to P35.

Konnetikut
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Post by Konnetikut » Wed Sep 26, 2007 5:01 pm

Hi there,

Maybe you've seen it, maybe you haven't, but my recent build uses the 520HX - which is plenty of power, and more than enough headroom for any foreseeable expansion. See sig for details.

It's always good to save money without sacrificing quality 8)

smilingcrow
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Post by smilingcrow » Thu Sep 27, 2007 4:57 am

I’m currently testing a G33 chipset system with a Q6600 (G0) undervolted to 1.05V in the BIOS (P95 stable 2+ hours) and using the IGP, Samsung 400GB, 2x 1GB DDR2-667, DVD-RW, Silverstone fanless 300W. Below is the power consumption at idle and running Prime95 (large FFT):

Stock Vcore – 66.5/141W
1.05V in Bios – 58.5/107W

A difference of 8W at idle and 34W at load.

If you add a 7300GT and second hard drive the maximum power draw at stock voltage rises to about 160W AC, which equates to 128W DC. And people are talking about 520W power supplies! That’s four times the power that this system would need at its peak output.

The undervolted system above only consumes about 86W DC which is good considering the CPU has a TDP of 95W. :shock:

I have a P35 arriving tomorrow that is a very similar spec to the G33 board (both Gigabyte) so I’ll post info here on power consumption.

smilingcrow
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Post by smilingcrow » Tue Oct 02, 2007 3:23 am

I tested the Gigabyte P35-S3 against a Gigabyte G33M-S2 and the power consumption was the same at idle and load.

E2140 (M0), 7300 LE 256 MB, Samsung 400GB SATA, Silverstone 300W (fanless), DVD-RW, 2x1GB DDR2-667.

Idle/Load(Orthos - in-place FFT)

P35-S3 (or G33M-S2), 7300 LE, E2140 (stock voltage) – 61/90W
G33M-S2, GMA-3100, E2140 (stock voltage) – 52.5/78.5W
G33M-S2, GMA-3100, E2140 (0.93125V in BIOS) – 48.5/64W

quest_for_silence
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Post by quest_for_silence » Tue Oct 02, 2007 4:21 am

smilingcrow wrote:I tested the Gigabyte P35-S3 against a Gigabyte G33M-S2 and the power consumption was the same at idle and load.
As it's meant to be, I guess (thanks a lot for sharing, smilingcrow).
Intel rates both the chipsets at 16w TDP, when both are using a PCI-Ex graphics card at least.

One interesting thing (to me) is that Intel rates the G33 at 14.5w as for TDP WITH the IGP enabled. As the previous 965G (which sports the very similar GMA X3000) is rated at 28w TDP in the same condition, I'm wondering if Intel may rate its G33 without taking the IGP into the "power consumption" account.
How much does the GeForce 7300LE drew itself from the wallet? And what about performance with reference to Intel GMA X3100?

Luca

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Post by smilingcrow » Tue Oct 02, 2007 6:50 am

quest_for_silence wrote:How much does the GeForce 7300LE drew itself from the wallet? And what about performance with reference to Intel GMA X3100?
The data above shows how much the 7300 LE consumes compared to the IGP.
The 2D performance seems very similar except for the poor quality of the D-SUB output of the Gigabyte board which I put down to the board and not the chipset.

quest_for_silence
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Post by quest_for_silence » Tue Oct 02, 2007 8:40 am

smilingcrow wrote:The data above shows how much the 7300 LE consumes compared to the IGP.
I've asked you so as I'd like to know if you know 7300LE "absolute" consuming, in order to figure out if Intel has intentionally misrepresented (or changed its specification method for) the G33's TDP (I fear a bit about it).

Going a bit off topic (I beg your pardon): G33's and P35's TDP is exactly the same with PCI-Ex graphic - 16w - while the previous 965P and 965G got a 19w TDP: so "Bearlake" chipsets sports a 3.5w advantage at idle, 3w at load (with discrete graphics). So I'm wondering how the G33 has a 14w bonus as TDP over 965G (with IGP), moreover when the former is just slighthly more recent than the latter: it seems to me a too large technical development (for the X3100 over the X3000) to be achieved in a few months.

However, it's not such an important thing: thanks again, smilingcrow.

Luca

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