Please check this build

[tastyninja]

The budget of my upcoming PC is about $3000, but the subtotal at newegg has to cost ~2800 to accomodate tax and shipping.

here is what I've come up with while lurking around these forums:
http://tinyurl.com/37sdfz

I'm not set on the case, but that is about the pricerange I'm looking for in for a case. I am currently split between the Antec P180B or Lian Li PC-60BPlusII (I'm not too interested in flashy cases ). I'm mainly interested in cooling, but also need space for the 8800gtx as well as an aftermarket cpu HSF. I'm leaning towards the zalman 9500 because its smaller than most of the other highly recommended aftermarket coolers, but if anything better/bigger would fit then please tell me. I would also like the case to be quiet, which is why I am leaning towards the P180B, though I've heard its tough to build in.

I've also read about the Intel having price cuts April 22, but I didn't see the extreme chips on the list at the websites I've gone to. Does the price drop extend to the QX6700?

Thank you for any help!

 

[wilcoxon]

Looks pretty good. Very similar to a previously considered variation of the system I'm building.

I'd recommend a Seagate 7200.10 instead of the Samsung SpinPoint. It costs <$10 more and is supposed to provide better performance plus (I think) Seagate's warranty is better.

Skyguy wrote a P180 wiring guide which should help with building/wiring in it.

I believe the QX6700 price is supposed to drop April 22 but not nearly as much as most of the other price cuts (down to a little over $900 iirc).

 

[rickpcnerd]

You might want to wait for AMD new cpu along with new ATI Video Cards R600 coming out this may. AMD claims to recrown. They already tested a pre ATI R600 vs Nvidia 8800 GTX and ATI clearly beat nvidia in all game bench marks. All games it looked better on ATi like always, And these pre R600 drivers were not optimized during bench marks. So these cards will be even much faster than Nvidia once optimized.Wait for the release, then check back in toms hardware for new benchmarks with ati optimized drivers then make a decision. U dont want to throw your money away on a nvidia when ati might outperform nvidia once again.
Check here for benchmark results http://level505.com/2006/12/30/the-full-ati-r600-test/1/

 

[akhilles]

These are guaranteed Micron D9 ram = best for o/c'ing. The Patriot is 50/50. See newegg's reviews.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231065
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820150054

 

[skyguy]

Good call on the D9 RAM.

Well, my only comment would be why the Quad? Why not drop to a 6600 dual and get a 22" Samsung 226 and a liquid cooling setup for the price difference?!?!? At this point, the only thing really worth investing for a quad would be higher-end 3D modelling, raytracing, and rendering. In which case, I'd go with a workstation, dual quad's and 8 gigs RAM.

So why the quad? I'd save some money, overclock the 6600, and get some other AWESOME components. Especially with that GTX and quad, I'm not sure simple air cooling does that setup justice. But a good Koolance or Danger Den liquid.....now you're talking!!


Oh, and thx for the props on my cabling guide Wil

 

[tastyninja]

Quad for video editing and maya, both of which literally took days to render on my 2.4 ghz Pentium 4. A friend of mine has the QX6700 and he can render HD video in practically no time while he surfs the web or listens to music, making the process a lot more bearable.

I'm not too keen on liquid cooling of any kind, just because I've never done it and I dont know anybody who has done it. I trust the internet as a guide, but water cooling sounds a little too dangerous not to have somebody next to me making sure I'm not doing anything wrong . I've never really considered it though, so maybe I'm just thinking its overcomplicated (but water+electricty in the hands of somebody new to it can't be good). I'll go read about it right now.

 

[akhilles]

There are ready-made AIO water cooling system kits. Thermaltake has quite a few. All you have to do is slap the radiator at the back fan mount & hook up the cpu block - as complicated as any large cpu hsf install that forces you to remove the mobo from the case.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010110575%201377228279&bop=And&Order=PRICE

 

[tastyninja]

Everybody on the cooler boards seems to be against a ~200 dollar kit and say they are about as good as top of the line air, which are a lot less expensive.

If I were to go for liquid cooling I would be looking at the Gigabyte Galaxy II, which is currently 138.99 or the Zalman Reserator (the one with only CPU) which is 169.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835128015

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118111

These kits only cool the CPU, whereas for that price I could be cooling the cpu, graphics card and chipset with expensive air coolers.

If I were to buy the Gigabyte I would also be willing to buy the Thermaltake All in One VGA cooler.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835116017

However that thing is a BEAST, so I'm not sure if it would fit in the case along with my sound card.

Would this liquid setup be worth it over a tuniq tower and some good case fans?

 

[akhilles]

I'm neither against nor for them (I'm just here to get your vote lol sounds like a politician). I'm simply presenting you the options. You do the research & come to a conclusion.

If it were me, I'd stick with air coolers. The top air coolers are tower 112, big typhoon, ninja/infinity, noctua & geminii.

http://www.hardwarelogic.com/news/62/ARTICLE/1355/6/2007-03-08.html
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/scythe-enzotech_9.html

 

[skyguy]

Here you go.....non-air CPU cooler that's completely self-contained, an absolute piece of cake to set up (just attach the CPU and screw in the rad/fan....DONE), runs cooler than bottom-end liquid systems, won't break the bank. Read some reviews on it, very good. I also know someone who has it hooked up to OC'd 6800 and his other quad core and swears by it:

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/5345/ex-wat-111/CoolIT_Systems_Eliminator_Universal_CPU_Cooler_-_Preassembled_Internal_TEC_Water_Cooling_Kit.html

 

[wilcoxon]

Looks like a good cooler for those new to liquid cooling. With multiple TECs, you will definitely have to watch to make sure you don't get condensation anywhere (water and electronic components don't mix ).

 

[skyguy]

Actually, that's an excellent point.....and Coolit has an excellent solution for that:

The Eliminator and the Freezone are both capable of cooling more than all the results show.....but the problem is that condensation can form due to the cold meeting the hot. SOOOOO.....what they've done is put in a "throttler" to ensure it only cools to a certain point before condensation forms. So, it can actually cool ALOT more than what it does, but it stops.....to ensure complete safety for the electrical components.

Now THAT is smart And functional. Apparently pretty quiet too. I'm looking into it a bit more myself.....there's always Christmas before you know it. Would go nicely with a Quad Core

Good point there Wilcox, and gave everyone the chance to learn how they've solved it. So basically it's an excellent, simple self-contained system to cool your CPU alot, without the hassle or danger of liquid. Gotta love that.