Hi,
 
I'm going to build myself a nice new computer. You can see the list of items here!.
I'm choosing between a Antec Sonata Plus 550 and a P182. I wonder if I can save some money and use a spare Corsair 450VX (roughly 6 months old) to power up my new build? If I can I'll buy the cheaper P182 if not I'll need to buy the Sonata Plus instead.

Hi
 
The P182 is the better case. I recommended it to a neighbour... Looks the biz out of the box!! Best Antec case I've seen...
 
Check out your power specs. here:
http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculator.jsp
Don't rely on THG folk to give you accurate advice... There's a hell of a lot of bullshit posted on THG these days...
 
The Corsair PSU is a good Tier 2 PSU:
http://www.anandtech.com/printarticle.aspx?i=3146
with 396Watts on the 12V rail where it counts... You would probably get away with X-Fire 3870's even!!
 
I see people are pulling your chain in the other thread... I would go for the E4xxx series (minimum) for gaming myself.
Arctic cooling make damn good coolers and fans... It might be a good idea to lap the base of the heatsink as it is quite cheap (and so probably won't be to well finished) - makes all the difference with a lapped CPU spreader!! I get the odd bits and bobs from the US (cheaper than buying the UK often enough) - maybe you can buy the smaller parts from another country??
 
Anyway back to this thread...!! I would say no worries on the powersupply front!!
 
Bob
 

Well, that depends what your specs will be! If your using an AMD K6 200Mhz 16 megs of RAM and a Voodoo 4MB then I think you'll be fine! haha. Here's a good deal on a 550VX that I'm getting http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-vx [...] 52646.html

---------------

*computer down--faulty RAM* *Don't make fun of my 7900GS!!*
BFG rox.

@Bob: Thanks for your reply Bob. Nice to know that my Corsair VX is up to the task. I used the calculator and ended up with 288W... that's even less than my current P4 system. I'm going to get myself a E8200 and clock it. The freezer 7 comes with thermal paste on it (AC MX2) so I'd probably lap the CPU... seems a waste to wash of the MX2 and reapply it again

 
I am just lapping a Coolmaster Hyper-TX-2 and that was fairly flat but like most cheap heatsinks it had lots of deep scored machining marks on the surface. Heatspreaders on older Athlons 64's and P4's all seem to have a massive dip in the middle - just where the actual die is!! However I have recently lapped a Core 2 E2160 and it was almost flat already (partially due to the smaller heat spreader Intel have used - resulting from the small stripped down 65nm die I suppose). Be aware you need to get something to weigh down this CPU when lapping as it is so light weight!! (I used a coin taped to the back!!)
 
I know you want to save the thermal compound and MX-2 is just about the best!! If you are building for yourself you have the luxury to try out with the unlapped CPU and heatsink then go on to measure the difference at a later date with them both lapped!!
 
Bob

Ok this is a bit off topic but when you're talking about sandpaper in the forums you're referring to different grit. I assume that's US measurement on sandpaper. In Sweden it says 50-400, the finest sandpaper doesn't even feel like sandpaper, it just feels like a normal piece of paper with a slightly rougher surface. It'll take forever to lap a CPU and Heatsink on those! Can someone tell me what measurement to use?

 
Yeh sure. I use P240, P400, P600, P800, P1000, P1200, P1500, P2000 & P2500 gritt. P240 is very rough and ensures that the surface is flat. 800+ and the surface should start looking like a mirror. By 2000 it just feels like paper.
1200 is adequate.
 
1) Just make sure you don't up a grade until the surface is sanded completely at the previous one (you can see the score marks of lower gritt by looking at different angles of light - just wait till they have gone).
2) Buy larger A4 sheets of good quality wet-dry sandpaper and cut them to A5/A6.
3) Use the pieces bone dry.
4) If you are sanding a tall heat-pipe heat-sink then you need to clamp it down and work with a small piece of flat perspex with sandpaper taped on (tight) to sand the CPU contact surface. Use A6 (or smaller) paper.
    To sand a CPU, waterblock or regular (old-style), flatter heatsink contact surface use a bit of glass with the sandpaper on top. Work with the glass on a flat surface. Use A5/A6 paper.
5) Once a piece of sandpaper is clogged with crud swap it for a clean piece. (You can try rinsing this off and waiting till it drys but I haven't found this too effective - so far!!)  
 
I buy in bulk online as it is cheaper and it is hard to find above 1200 gritt in the shops!!
 
Sounds like you have similar system in Sweden perhaps to the UK (I am not based in the US)? The US system is the same. Just check in a local hardware store that the Swedish system is the same as the US/UK system or what the conversion factor is!!
 
In my experience it is a very time consuming job. The results are stunning if you have the patience to take the surface truely to 1200 gritt (+)!! As an example my flatmates socket 939 Opteron 165 (dual-core) @2.8Ghz (+1Ghz OC) runs at 38C in a warm room with a CPU burn process running on each core. That is utilising the standard (larger model) copper, heatpipe Opteron (stock) cooler and an Arctic Cooling 12cm fan mounted above it... The heatsink and CPU are both lapped to 2000 gritt... Super silent, super cool!
 
Bob

Oh yeh, one last thing make sure you have something good to watch on TV/PC!!
 
Bob

 
#1) Yes, The PSU will suit you just fine.  It should be able to handle any single card, even the 3870x2 w/o issues.
 
#2) When listening to advice, you will notice some folks rarely if ever provide links to credible sources to backup their statements while others do.  If something has been demonstrated or shown by multiple top tier review sites, you can generally believe it.  If it's a statement such as, "Well I know because I did it and all the review sites are bunk", then you may want to question the verasity of the poster or if you believe them just assume they are an major exception to the rule and found some type of magical hardware piece.

What a load, the vx450 is more than enough for your system.

Here's a good deal on the P182;
http://www.microcenter.com/single_ [...] id=0257446

I wish I could use that... but I live in Sweden and I've already ordered the case... but thanks anyway