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I7 System Build Thread (with Pictures!)

Forum Homebuilt Systems : New System Build - I7 System Build Thread (with Pictures!)

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Foolycooly   03-07-2009 at 10:17:33 PM

I finally finished putting together my i7 system about a half hour ago. It took a lot longer than I anticipated...not because of any technical problems but because I wanted to make sure I did everything right and did my best on cable management. It's been over a month since I first discovered this board and you guys have been an absolutely tremendous help in helping me from the planning stages through completion. A list of thank yous will follow my pictures...and there are a lot.

http://i580.photobucket.com/albums/ss245/stalcueh/DSC00068.jpg

P6T Deluxe V2

http://i580.photobucket.com/albums/ss245/stalcueh/DSC00069.jpg

http://i580.photobucket.com/albums/ss245/stalcueh/DSC00070.jpg

CPU Installed

http://i580.photobucket.com/albums/ss245/stalcueh/DSC00071.jpg

V8

http://i580.photobucket.com/albums/ss245/stalcueh/DSC00072.jpg

V8 installed w/ MX-2 (was pretty nervous about this...hopefully my temps turn out ok)

http://i580.photobucket.com/albums/ss245/stalcueh/DSC00073.jpg

OCZ Platinum set

http://i580.photobucket.com/albums/ss245/stalcueh/DSC00074.jpg

CM-690 before the madness

http://i580.photobucket.com/albums/ss245/stalcueh/DSC00075.jpg

mobo installed

http://i580.photobucket.com/albums/ss245/stalcueh/DSC00076.jpg

http://i580.photobucket.com/albums/ss245/stalcueh/DSC00077.jpg

LG drive

http://i580.photobucket.com/albums [...] C00078.jpg

Beginnings of cable management

http://i580.photobucket.com/albums [...] C00079.jpg

The mess I have to figure out how to clean up

http://i580.photobucket.com/albums [...] C00080.jpg

results

http://i580.photobucket.com/albums [...] C00081.jpg

A lot of it had to be stuffed into the HDD area

http://i580.photobucket.com/albums [...] C00082.jpg

http://i580.photobucket.com/albums [...] C00083.jpg

http://i580.photobucket.com/albums [...] C00084.jpg

http://i580.photobucket.com/albums [...] C00085.jpg

http://i580.photobucket.com/albums [...] C00086.jpg

beautiful samsung 24"

http://i580.photobucket.com/albums [...] C00087.jpg

POST SUCCESS !!!!!

http://i580.photobucket.com/albums [...] C00088.jpg

The airflow inside is outstanding on my preliminary investigations...the air inside feels much cooler than ambient.


THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH. Especially:

theKid (outstanding help)

Akebono

theAnimal

WR2

Proximon

and everyone else who helped me, thank you again.


Now on to driver installation, overclocking and benchmarks...

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xthekidx   03-08-2009 at 12:10:02 AM
- 0 +

Its gorgeous. Glad to help out! Benchmark that bad boy and let us know how it goes. Use Memtest86+ and prime95 to stress test it for stability after you overclock, Realtemp to monitor your temperatures.

------------------------------ Asus P6T & i7 920 @ 3.6ghz
GTX 260 Core 216
6gb 1443MHZ 7-7-7-18 1T OCZ Platinum
CM RC-690, CM V8 HSF
Reply to xthekidx
Foolycooly   03-08-2009 at 02:37:45 AM
- 0 +

haven't gotten to any OCing yet...been pretty busy but i'll probably do some work tomorrow.

Temps using realtemp are around 32-35 idle. Both GPU temps are about 51 idle (using EVGA's tool). Do these seem right/acceptable?

Reply to Foolycooly
xthekidx   03-08-2009 at 02:46:49 AM
- 0 +

The i7 sounds about right, I don't know about the GTX 295, but it seems hot to me.

------------------------------ Asus P6T & i7 920 @ 3.6ghz
GTX 260 Core 216
6gb 1443MHZ 7-7-7-18 1T OCZ Platinum
CM RC-690, CM V8 HSF
Reply to xthekidx
Foolycooly   03-08-2009 at 02:56:28 AM
- 0 +

found this thread:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] -temp-drop

which seems to suggest that the backplate shine only under full load...seems like my gpu temps are about right...might actually get better once I put my sidepanel back on and the 120mm is blowing cold air directly onto it.

Reply to Foolycooly
Greg_77   03-08-2009 at 06:12:47 PM
- 0 +

My i7 920 processor is about the same temperature at idle, and goes to 53-56 C at load. I have the same cooler as you and used realtemp to get my temperature. Just thought you want to know for reference.

Reply to Greg_77
migs008   03-09-2009 at 05:58:40 AM
- 0 +

Uhm...Im not too sure if you knew this but the V8 is on wrong.

We have almost the same setup including the casing aside from the mobo(mine is EVGA x58) and I have my 920 on 24 C at Idle and 40 C with prime95 doing 50% CPU work.

I envy your cable management though. Maybe i'll get around to doing that when I clean it thouroughly.


Message edited by migs008 on 03-09-2009 at 06:02:53 AM
Reply to migs008
Foolycooly   03-09-2009 at 02:31:05 PM
- 0 +

do you mean the V8 is mounted backwards? Are those temps with an OC? Lurker has his V8 mounted the same way in this thread:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261090-31-pics-build

and his temps are much lower than mine. I just found out last night that the extra exhaust fan that I mounted up top is on backwards and is intaking instead of exhausting...i'm going to flip it around today and see if helps my temps at all.

Reply to Foolycooly
Foolycooly   03-09-2009 at 03:08:35 PM
- 0 +

I was able to get the voltages down to stock 1.2 on the cpu for my 3.5ghz OC and it seems to be stable....temps are now idleing around 39-40. I guess i'll have to live with it since I really don't feel like attempting to reseat the V8. I wouldn't suspect any damage from running at these temperature ranges on an overclock.


Also benchmarked with vantage this morning. CPU at 3.5ghz and gtx295 at stock:


http://i580.photobucket.com/albums/ss245/stalcueh/VantageScore.jpg


My CPU score seems really low compared to some setups I've seen. I know that the 965 running stock shows something in the 40 thousands...but it's only running at 3.2 ghz? Any ideas here? I was expecting something in the 19,000s at least if not breaking the 20k mark.


Message edited by Foolycooly on 03-09-2009 at 03:58:10 PM
Reply to Foolycooly
Foolycooly   03-09-2009 at 04:28:12 PM
- 0 +

sorry to keep bumping my own thread...but...

updated drivers FTW:

http://i580.photobucket.com/albums/ss245/stalcueh/VantageScoreUpdatedDrivers.jpg

Reply to Foolycooly
migs008   03-10-2009 at 05:00:04 AM
- 0 +

I dunno about lurkers. But some people have the patience to actually switch the fans inside the v8 so it looks upright. But when you check the manual you can see the direction of the airflow. So if you still haven't flipped it it would actually blow air inside instead of to the back exhaust fan.

By the way what was your benchmark before you did any tweaking?

And what drivers did you update? Because I can't tell what is a normal benchmark (Noob T_T). I benchamarked mine on 3dmark06 without any tweaking and got a score of 16800 but I don't know what the average score would be for something of my build.

If you happen to know that would be great.


Message edited by migs008 on 03-10-2009 at 05:06:51 AM
Reply to migs008
Foolycooly   03-10-2009 at 05:11:37 AM
- 0 +

yeah 3dmark06 is a bit different...i think with my an oc of 3.5 than you can expect scores in the 18 thousands on 3dmark06.

I have heard people say that the V8's instructions show the airflow the wrong way...I'm pretty sure mine is correct because there is no air coming out of the intake side and a lot of warm air going out the outtake side.

the drivers were referring to nvidia's drivers for the gtx295. I had the drivers installed from the included disc, but there were newer ones on nvidia's website. They obviously made a huge difference...both scores are with a 3.5ghz overclock on stock voltages. The gtx295 is stock...the lower score is with the drivers included on the disc and the higher score is w/ the newer drivers.

I can probably get a few more thousand out of the card if I wanted to overclock it, but I see no reason to. Synthetic benchmarks are somewhat useless outside of their bragging value. I forsee any trouble running any game w/ this card.

Reply to Foolycooly
migs008   03-10-2009 at 05:38:24 AM
- 0 +

Crap.

I think mine is upside down. Dammit.

Meh. No worries. I still get 21-24 C on idle. But this is going to annoy me a lot when I find out I have to turn the fan upside down again to get decent temps on overclock.

CURSE YOU COOLERMASTER instructions!!!


Message edited by migs008 on 03-10-2009 at 05:39:00 AM
Reply to migs008
xthekidx   03-10-2009 at 05:41:52 AM
- 0 +

lol yeah the V8's instructions come with a misprint, having the V8 logo right way up when your PC is standing up is the correct way to have it so it blows the hot air right at your exhaust fan.

------------------------------ Asus P6T & i7 920 @ 3.6ghz
GTX 260 Core 216
6gb 1443MHZ 7-7-7-18 1T OCZ Platinum
CM RC-690, CM V8 HSF
Reply to xthekidx
Foolycooly   03-10-2009 at 05:42:49 AM
- 0 +

If you are getting 21-24c on idle I would NOT mess with anything. Those are outstanding temps.

Reply to Foolycooly
migs008   03-10-2009 at 05:51:04 AM
- 0 +

Maybe it's because i'm using windows XP and not vista that i'm getting those temps?

I'm in California by the way if the location helps with the temps.


Message edited by migs008 on 03-10-2009 at 05:52:07 AM
Reply to migs008
Foolycooly   03-10-2009 at 05:57:13 AM
- 0 +

shouldn't make a big difference unless you don't have air conditioning in your house...Are you running at stock speeds or do you have it overclocked? OS should not make a difference either.

Reply to Foolycooly
xthekidx   03-10-2009 at 05:57:26 AM
- 0 +

What are you using to monitor your temperatures? Those are very low...I would venture to say they are inaccurate. I use Realtemp, which is probably the best estimator on the i7, it was written with the i7 specifically in mind. I idle at 38-39C on 3.5ghz OC i7-920.

------------------------------ Asus P6T & i7 920 @ 3.6ghz
GTX 260 Core 216
6gb 1443MHZ 7-7-7-18 1T OCZ Platinum
CM RC-690, CM V8 HSF
Reply to xthekidx
migs008   03-10-2009 at 05:59:24 AM
- 0 +

I'm using lavalys everest ultimate edition. Is it not accurate for i7's?

E-leet software also displays the same temps though.

And yeah im running at stock speeds. Still researching overclocking. Don't wanna mess that one up. Also no air conditioning whatsoever so it really gets hot here or cold because no heater either.


Message edited by migs008 on 03-10-2009 at 06:01:30 AM
Reply to migs008
xthekidx   03-10-2009 at 06:04:53 AM
- 0 +

DL Realtemp and see what it says, maybe you really are getting those temps.

------------------------------ Asus P6T & i7 920 @ 3.6ghz
GTX 260 Core 216
6gb 1443MHZ 7-7-7-18 1T OCZ Platinum
CM RC-690, CM V8 HSF
Reply to xthekidx
migs008   03-10-2009 at 06:09:30 AM
- 0 +

Yikes. Looks like I read the temps wrong. Lavalys can take accurate measurements on temps but on seperate 4 cores it averages on 35 C.

And real temp also shows 35 C on average on all 4 cores.

Reply to migs008
Foolycooly   03-10-2009 at 06:10:42 AM
- 0 +

those temps are more than acceptable, but you might want to switch your V8 around and see what it does.

Reply to Foolycooly
migs008   03-10-2009 at 06:13:32 AM
- 0 +

ugh...

Now I have to research how to reattach the stupid thing. AAAAAAAGHH!!!

Do I have to remove the thermal paste and reapply it again?

It's been about 5 days now

Reply to migs008
Foolycooly   03-10-2009 at 06:19:41 AM
- 0 +

probably not necessary to reapply the paste if you switch it fairly quickly and make sure not to contaminate the area w/ dust or dirt. I know it can be a pretty big pain to do, but it's probably worth doing if you have it mounted backwards...circulating hot air inside your case is not a good thing.

but like I said...your temps are ok and they're not going to damage your cpu, so you can wait until you want to overclock to mess with anything. (It's not like the i7 920 at stock settings is slow ;))

Reply to Foolycooly
migs008   03-10-2009 at 06:22:35 AM
- 0 +

So if I were to wait like until tommorow that would be ok?

Because it's almost time for me to sleep.

How long would it take until you have to reapply the thermal paste anyway?


Message edited by migs008 on 03-10-2009 at 06:25:09 AM
Reply to migs008
Foolycooly   03-10-2009 at 06:24:38 AM
- 0 +

haha of course...there's no real rush.

Reply to Foolycooly
migs008   03-10-2009 at 06:26:12 AM
- 0 +

Great! Because I was thinking it hardens in like a day or something.

That got me worried.

Thanks a lot.

Also sorry for disturbing your thread here with my poblem.


Message edited by migs008 on 03-10-2009 at 06:42:48 AM
Reply to migs008
waterhoze   03-10-2009 at 07:05:00 PM
- 0 +

to all those with the v8 backwards install. yeah, airflow like this:
CoolerMaster
<- V8 <- (airflow)
[looking at logo]

and hey, don't take the 'easy' way out and reuse that thermal paste, even for a
days install, 1st clean with clean cloth (the thick stuff), use some common isopropyl
alcohol on a clean coffee filter to remove all traces, and finally a clean dry coffee filter to remove residue, dust. re-apply. a royal pita but, do it now and be done.

Reply to waterhoze
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