My new rig (very long read)

[smedlin]

Well, I've just about got my new rig finished.

Key Items

CPU - AMD 64 X2 4800
Heat Sink - Zalmon 9500
MB - Asus A8N-32 Sli Delux
PowerSupply - Thermaltake 550W PS
Case - CoolMaster Stacker 810
Primary Drive - WD 150G Raptor with 16M cache
Storage Drive - WD 250G with 16m cache
Memory - OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) Dual Channel Platinum
Vid Cards - Two BFG 7900GTX

I also added a new samsung dvd burner and a generic floppy.

Comments

This case is huge. I did not realize a full tower was so big. It really makes it easy to work inside it. It's really nice.

The case comes with 4 fans. A 120 intake in the front that blows on the hard drives then across the mb. For exhaust it has 2 120's in the back and 1 80 on top.

I've already replaced all three exhaust fans with some Artic ones. They have blue led light on them and look really nice (and really blow out some air). I still need to replace the front intake as well as add another intake to front. This would give me 2 Artic 120's blowing from front to back.

I also replaced the stock side panal with an "window" side panal. It's looking pretty good.

That Zalmon 9500 is really nifty looking. It has blue led lights on it as well.


Things to ponder

I question my power supply. I have no idea why I picked that one. I should have gone with a 680W or 800W unit.

Future Upgrades

I'm really worried about that power supply. Thermaltake is making a
250W powersupply dedicated just for vid cards. They should be in stores any day now. Getting one of those will be my priority.

PCI-Slots
These two vid cards I have are monsters. Huge! I have 1 pci slot that is not buried under these cards. And in truth, that one is not usable, since anything installed in it would actually be touching the top vid card, blocking off air flow to the fan.

I'd like to check out the new Ageia PhysX cards when they come out next month, but I don't know where I would add it. I read somewhere they are going to make a pci-x4 card for it as well. I wonder how that would perform.

Of course, when the G80's come out, I'll have to look into those. Although I may hold off getting those until next year when I upgrade to Vista.

When I do upgrade to Vista, I'll drop in another two gigs of ocz.

Monitor
My old rig was a "package" deal I got from best buy over two years ago. As of right now, I have not changed out the monitor. It's a 17inch HP LCD. In the next couple of days I'm going to pick up a Gateway 21"

Over Clocking
I've never done any over clocking before. I'm kinda nervous about doing that. After I get the gpu ps added and everything has time to "burn in" and prove stable, I'll start to dabble in over clocking.

Bench Marks
No over clocking, 100% stock Settings

Pictures
After I get the new monitor, I'll take some pics of the entire thing and post them.

 

[llama_man]

Surprised about the fan setup - is there really 3 exhuasts (if you include the PSU) to 1 intake? Doesn't sound very balanced.

Either the intake fan will be forced by having the exhaust fans reduce the pressure behind it (which can't be good for the fan motor), or your case will suck air (and therefore dust) in through all the cracks (like your DVD drive).

 

[sandmannight]

pretty nice. Although a 600 or 700 watt power supply would be good for you a lot of people get amd 3200's and 6800 and think they need a 600 watt PS. That is stupid and a waste of money

 

[llama_man]

pretty nice. Although a 600 or 700 watt power supply would be good for you a lot of people get amd 3200's and 6800 and think they need a 600 watt PS. That is stupid and a waste of money

I have a 3000 and a 6800 and I have a 600W PSU I'm sad now.

In my defence, I bought that monster because I wanted to have at least 1 component of my PC that wouldn't be obsolete before I opened the box. Although the way things are going I'll need a small nuclear reactor to power my next graphics card.

 

[smedlin]

Surprised about the fan setup - is there really 3 exhuasts (if you include the PSU) to 1 intake? Doesn't sound very balanced.

Either the intake fan will be forced by having the exhaust fans reduce the pressure behind it (which can't be good for the fan motor), or your case will suck air (and therefore dust) in through all the cracks (like your DVD drive).

One 120 X 120 X 25 mm Front Fan; 1200 rpm, 22 dBA (intake);
Two 120 X 120 X 25 mm Rear Fan; 1200 rpm, 22 dBA (exhaust);
One 80 X 80 X 25 mm Top Fan; 1800rpm 22dBA (exhaust)

That's from the coolermasters web site.

I don't think it will suck air in between the "cracks". The "front" of the case is one entire "bay". The "out side covers" (for lack of a better word) each each bay is actually a "mesh grill" covered by a "dust cloth thingy".

 

[llama_man]

I see - so it sucks air in through a huge intake on the front? Nice.

Remember to clean the dust filter regularly! I forgot to clean mine for a while and it got clogged (and the case started to suck air in through other orifices)

 

[upec]

That is a very nice system.

 

[smedlin]

I see - so it sucks air in through a huge intake on the front? Nice.

Here is a picture (from thier web site) of how the front looks.

That's the front intake that is attached to the hard drive bay. Those "face plates" cover the entire front (you don't actually see the fan) from top to bottom. Each face plate is a mesh grill. Lots of intake...

 

[llama_man]

Cool! Get 3 of those bays and you could have 12 hard disks cooled by 3 120mm fans!

Probably need an extra power supply though ;o)

 

[smedlin]

Well, I went and got my new monitor today. I ended up with the ViewSonic VX924.
It's a 19" with a 3ms response time.

 

[7H4_D00D3]

OMFG!!!! I could live in there! xD

Seriously, you spent so much money on your rig that your camera sucks...taht or you are a really bad photographer (but using your little godly machine to alter the photographs should be no problem)

Congrats man!

 

[timberwolf1]

WOW. Lovely setup. I love those pics.