Need help with optimizing my build.

dc9242 · Mar 18, 2017

I recently upgraded my old pc which was a HP Pavilion 500. I upgrade the case, GPU, and PSU. I am eventually going to upgrade my motherboard and probably salvage the CPU and RAM.

Current Build:
CPU : Intel Core i5-4460S @ 2900 MHz
GPU : EVGA SCC NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
Motherboard : HP 2AF7
RAM : 12GB
Case : Corsair SPEC 01

So, I do have a couple of questions that I was hoping to address. I am new to building computers so my knowledge on the subject is mediocre. If I make any mistakes, I apologize.

1) What would be the temperature range for my specific CPU and GPU? I am currently monitoring them with the CAM software, and when I run games, the GPU tends to go up to 56 degrees Celsius, which is over the Community Max Temp that the software provides me. As for the CPU, it tends to go up to 50 degrees Celsius.

2) I wanted to purchase some new fans for the case, but I am not sure if it is necessary? Given the information I provided, would you recommend adding new fans? If so, where would the ideal placement of fans be. I was thinking of buying two more fans and putting an additional intake fan on the front and an exhaust on the back.

3) Since I am using a stock motherboard right now, it only has with one system fan 3 pin connection. I took out the stock intake fan, and connected the new fan that came with the new case. Everything I boot up my computer, it gives me a 512 error saying that the rear chassis fan was not detected. I assume that it is because I am not using the stock fan. My plan was to connect the new case fan to the PSU with a 3 pin to MOLEX adapter, or purchase a fan controller. Then I was going to connect the stock fan to the motherboard and use that as a exhaust fan. In addition, the stock fan is smaller than the screw mounts on the case, so I was just going to zip tie it to the case. In addition, the new case fan is in the front of the case, while the connection on the motherboard is all the way at the back. The cable is just barely long enough and I have it stretched over the CPU fan. That is the other reason I am considering doing this.

4) My case comes with USB 2 and USB 3 on the front. When I connect them to the motherboard, the USB 3 does not work even though it fits the connections. Does the motherboard I have support USB 3?

6) My case has vents on the top and my room tends to accumulate dust quickly, should I purchase dust filters and put them over the top?

That's all of the questions that I can think of right now, if you could answer any of these, it would be greatly appreciated. Also, any recommendations for future motherboards or parts, please let me know. Thank you!

These are some pictures of the final build, also any cable management tips would be great, thanks!
http://imgur.com/a/bHSZn

Curlev · Mar 18, 2017

1. If u mean 1050Ti then the temps are fine for both CPU and GPU.

2. 2 fans in the front for intake and 1 in the rear for exahust is the most common i think, but 1 in the front and 1 in the back will probably be enough.

3. Don't know if that motherboard can control the rpm speed through 3 pin and if you connect the fan through a molex adapter then the fan will spin it's max rpm all the time. Buy a fan controller and connect all case fans to it then u are able to make the PC more quiet aswell. I am not really sure why it gives u an error when connecting the new fan, it shouldn't care wich fan u are using.

4. That motherboard seems to have an internal USB 3.0 so it should work. Maybe there are some chipset drivers for the motherboard that needs to be installed.

5. In general you doesn't need filters in the roof if u dont have your intake fans there or if u have a positive pressure, wich means more air into the case then out of the case. But you can put filters in the roof if you want, it won't do any harm.

Btw: It looks weird with that fan on top of the cpu-cooler.

dc9242 · Mar 19, 2017

Curlev :

Okay, thanks!
What would be the max temp that the GPU and CPU should run at? Like is there a temperature that these components shouldn't reach? I just wanted to know so that I can watch for it in the future

Yeah, I was thinking of getting the two pack of Corsair SP fans and place another fan in the front. The reason why I was looking at SP was because the fan mount is in front of the hard drive tray. And then connect the OEM fan and the second Corsair fan to the back and use them as exhaust fans. Or is it better just to have 2 intake and 1 exhaust? If that's the case, would a smaller fan make a difference for the exhaust? Cause the OEM fan is smaller than the mounts and I want to use that to get rid of the error if I can't find any way to disable that.
.
Yeah, I realize that if I connected it to the PSU, then it would run at max. Do you have any recommendation for fan controllers? I was looking at a few from NZXT, but I don't have much experience with these. Also, is it better to get one that automatically control the fan speeds? I'm only asking because It's possible that I might accidentally keep the fan too low and not provide enough airflow. Also, the only reason that I'm hesitant on getting a controller now, is because, I may upgrade my motherboard in the future and I've seen motherboards with more than one connection for fans. Would it be better to get a fan controller instead?

I am assuming that since it's an OEM mobo, sometimes they'll only accept specific fans like the OEM fans. I looked into the BIOS and couldn't find any option to disable the warning.

For the USB 3.0, I'm not really sure whats wrong, All the drivers are up to date the last time I checked. When I plugged in various USB devices (3 different flash drives, a microphone, and a headset), there is a connection. Like when I look under devices, it shows that something is connected but it says the device is unrecognizable or something (I don't remember off the top of my head, I have to double check what it said).

Yeah, I realize it looks weird with the wire going across like that. That's why I wanted to connect the front intake to the psu and then connect the OEM fan at the back as an exhaust.

Curlev · Mar 19, 2017

According to Intel for the CPU it´s 71.35 degrees celsius and according to Nvidia it´s 97 degress celsius for the GPU.

2 intakes and 1 exhaust is enough, but if u have four fans u can always try with 2 exhaust! If u only have 2 intake and 1 exhasut I would choose the bigger fan and you are correct when chosing SP fans for the intakes if u have harddrive cages.

I don´t know if there are any controllers that can automatically control the speed and if u are afraid of to little airflow then look for a controller that has 40% fan speed as lowest. In that case u will probably be safe even if the controller are on the lowest setting. If u then upgrade your motherboard I would not use a fan controller, but you can if u like. Some prefer to have a fan contgroller instead of using the motherboard! If u buy a fan controller make sure so the connectors have same amount of pins as the fans. NZXT Sentry Mesh for example, it uses 3 pins and have 40% fan speed as the lowest, quite cheap also.

Okay. I have never owned an OEM mobo so that can surely be true.

For cable management, start by putting all cables from the PSU through that hole on the bottom and the route the cables on the back of the chassis and then through the holes on sides of the motherboard.

dc9242 · Mar 21, 2017

Curlev :

I was thinking of purchasing the NZXT Grid + V2. Have you had any experience with that one? Also, I was thinking of purchaing a two pack of the SP fans becuase of the price. I would use one as another intake in the front and then probably use another as an exhaust. Would that make a difference? Or would a AF fan be better for the exhaust. So I would have in total 4 fans. The one that came with the case and one SP fan in the front as intakes. Both connected to the controller. And then one SP fan at the back connected to the controller and the OEM fan at the back connected to the motherboard.

Also, since running some more games, the CAM software has frequently notified me that my CPU and GPU have been running at max load at certain times. Looking through the history, one of the temps I found was 48 degrees at 84% load for the CPU. And for the GPU, the highest I can find is around 55 degrees at 78% load. Is that something I should be worried about? I don't quite understand the load.

Also according to the software, it says that my CPU fan is always running at around 450-500 RPM

I currently have only one intake fan at the front, would the additional fans help with those temps?

Curlev · Mar 21, 2017

I have no experience with GRID but it looks kind of nice. Just make sure that you have an extra internal USB header and hope it works better then your front panel ports. I don´t know the pricepoint for that fan controller but maybe you can add some extra 10-20 dollars and buy a new motherboard instead?

For the fans I don´t think it matters that much if you have AF or SP as exhaust. You can buy a dual pack of SP 120, I recommend the Quiet ones, and put one of them in front of the harddrive cage. Then you can choose if you wan´t to move the including fan as exhaust.

No, you do not need to worry about the temps. Load means how much the CPU and GPU are working, 100% is max. As long as the game runs fine I wouldn´t care.

I don´t know how that motherboard works but some manufacturers have different presets. Silent Mode for example, then the fan spins slower to keep the PC more quiet but 450-500 sound low when the CPU is at load. Look if u can find some settings in BIOS. What software do you use? Maybe the software have some problem to read of the motherboard.

I can almost guarantee that atleast one exhaust will help with the temps, pushing hot air out is equally important as cold air in, if not more important The fan you put in the front of the harddrive cage will of course cool the harddrives and maybe help the GPU a little bit. But as i said, your temps are absolutely fine.

dc9242 · Mar 22, 2017

Curlev :

So the Grid is around $30. I don't have much experience with motherboards, so if you have a recommendation, that'd be great. I'll probably salvage the CPU, CPU fan, and RAM. Although, is it probably better to upgrade the CPU cooler in the future? For the motherboard, it'd be nice to have one that has multiple fan controllers or something like that. Also, I may change the RAM as well. The current is 12GB DDR3 Hyundai Electronics. I haven't heard of that company making RAM before. Although, I don't have much experience so I wouldn't know.

I might just use your idea for the fans. However, is it not better to use SP fans in cases where there isn't enough space such as the hard drive cage?

Also, I just double checked the BIOS, and it turns out that I was wrong. The CAM software from NZXT is mistaking the system fan (the case fan) for the CPU fan. The CPU fan is actually running at around 1400 RPM while the intake is around 450-500.

Curlev · Mar 23, 2017

If u are going to keep that CPU for a while then you can probably buy the cheapset one with the most fan connectors. How much are you willing to spend? As for the cooler you are fine with the stock one for now, but if u change it to let´s say a Deepcool Gammaxx 400 (wich is pretty cheap) you will for sure get lower temps. Same here, I have never heard of Hyundai, except for their car manufacturing. So switching ram may or may not be a huge change.

Yes, the SP ones are better when you are going to place it in front of the hard drives, as i mentioned earlier. Put one in the empty fan space in the front of the hard drives and the second SP above or in the back as exhaust. Personally i would go with both SP in the front and the one that came with case as exhaust in the back. But there you can choose how you will have it.

Okay. U can probably just higher the rpm of the front fan if u like.

dc9242 · Mar 25, 2017

Curlev :

I'm probably going to stick with the current CPU and motherboard. If anything I was going to say $70 or so for the budget. But I think I'm going to upgrade my motherboard when I upgrade my CPU. Especially since there are few motherboards that meet my expectations that will fit the CPU. And when I do that, I can upgrade the RAM then too. As for the cooler, I'll leave it be as well since it's okay at keeping it below the max temp. I went ahead and installed the fans as you recommended. I used to SP ones in front and the case fan as an exhaust at the back. I also zip tied the OEM fan to the top and connected that to the motherboard to stop the error.

For the fan controller I purchased this one: http://www.microcenter.com/product/461634/6_Channel_Multi-Fan_Controller
The Kingwin fpx-006. However, I think I am going to return it cause I can't find much information on it online. It keeps the fans on when the switch is all the way down, similar to the NZXT with the 40% min. But I have no idea how much power it provides it. The only reason, I got this was because I needed a fan controller and this was the only one they had in stock and I could not find 3pin to molex adapters. Also, it doesn't fully sit sturdily in my case, the SPEC 01. It wiggles a bit

I am thinking of either getting the NZXT mesh or NZXT Sentry Mix 2. You have experience with the mesh, but do you have experience with the sentry mix 2? https://www.nzxt.com/products/SENTRY-Mix-2

I'm leaning towards the latter because it'll look better with my case as it is not mesh.

Curlev · Mar 26, 2017

dc9242 :

Curlev :

I'm probably going to stick with the current CPU and motherboard. If anything I was going to say $70 or so for the budget. But I think I'm going to upgrade my motherboard when I upgrade my CPU. Especially since there are few motherboards that meet my expectations that will fit the CPU. And when I do that, I can upgrade the RAM then too. As for the cooler, I'll leave it be as well since it's okay at keeping it below the max temp. I went ahead and installed the fans as you recommended. I used to SP ones in front and the case fan as an exhaust at the back. I also zip tied the OEM fan to the top and connected that to the motherboard to stop the error.

For the fan controller I purchased this one: http://www.microcenter.com/product/461634/6_Channel_Multi-Fan_Controller
The Kingwin fpx-006. However, I think I am going to return it cause I can't find much information on it online. It keeps the fans on when the switch is all the way down, similar to the NZXT with the 40% min. But I have no idea how much power it provides it. The only reason, I got this was because I needed a fan controller and this was the only one they had in stock and I could not find 3pin to molex adapters. Also, it doesn't fully sit sturdily in my case, the SPEC 01. It wiggles a bit

I am thinking of either getting the NZXT mesh or NZXT Sentry Mix 2. You have experience with the mesh, but do you have experience with the sentry mix 2? https://www.nzxt.com/products/SENTRY-Mix-2

I'm leaning towards the latter because it'll look better with my case as it is not mesh.

Okay. That sounds good.

What do you mean with power provided?

No, i have no experience with that one. But it should be good.

dc9242 · Apr 6, 2017

Curlev :

dc9242 :

Curlev :

I'm probably going to stick with the current CPU and motherboard. If anything I was going to say $70 or so for the budget. But I think I'm going to upgrade my motherboard when I upgrade my CPU. Especially since there are few motherboards that meet my expectations that will fit the CPU. And when I do that, I can upgrade the RAM then too. As for the cooler, I'll leave it be as well since it's okay at keeping it below the max temp. I went ahead and installed the fans as you recommended. I used to SP ones in front and the case fan as an exhaust at the back. I also zip tied the OEM fan to the top and connected that to the motherboard to stop the error.

For the fan controller I purchased this one: http://www.microcenter.com/product/461634/6_Channel_Multi-Fan_Controller
The Kingwin fpx-006. However, I think I am going to return it cause I can't find much information on it online. It keeps the fans on when the switch is all the way down, similar to the NZXT with the 40% min. But I have no idea how much power it provides it. The only reason, I got this was because I needed a fan controller and this was the only one they had in stock and I could not find 3pin to molex adapters. Also, it doesn't fully sit sturdily in my case, the SPEC 01. It wiggles a bit

I am thinking of either getting the NZXT mesh or NZXT Sentry Mix 2. You have experience with the mesh, but do you have experience with the sentry mix 2? https://www.nzxt.com/products/SENTRY-Mix-2

I'm leaning towards the latter because it'll look better with my case as it is not mesh.

Okay. That sounds good.

What do you mean with power provided?

No, i have no experience with that one. But it should be good.

You know how the NZXT mesh runs at a min of 40%, that's what I mean when I say how much power it provides. Also, I still haven't purchased another fan controller. I was hoping you could tell me if the mesh has 3 pin connections or 2 pin connections.

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