New/First Build - Core i7

[TDNEF]

Hi Guys,

This is my first computer build and as such I am a little worried about whether or not all of these components will actually fit together when I finally order the kit - like will the CPU Cooler fit the Antec case without fowling up the first DIMM slot on the mobo? If there is someone who wouldn't mind double checking my configuration for any possible pit falls or compatibility issues I would be most grateful. The PC will mostly be used for hosting VMs - hence the need for 12GB of RAM. I welcome any feed back on this build - and if you would recommend any different components to my chosen ones please post!

Case + Fan
Antec Mini P180 Black MATX
I will remove one of the front HDD bays and fit the following additional intake fan - Hiper 120mm Case Fan

PSU
Corsair 620W HX Modular

Motherboard
ASUS Rampage II GENE Republic of Gamers X58 MATX

CPU + Cooler Fan
Intel Core i7-920
Cogage True Spirit Cooler
Arctic Cooling MX-2 Thermal Compound

Graphics Card
Palit nVidia GeForce 9600GT Super 1GB DDR VGA/DVI-I/HDMI PCI-E
or
Sapphire HD 4850 512MB GDDR3 HDMI DVI VGA PCI-E
Would you recommend either of these cards?


RAM
Corsair 12GB XMS3 PC3-10600 1333Mhz Tri-Channel DDR3 (6x2GB)

Many Thanks in advance,

Joel

 

[wathman]

If all you are doing is hosting VM's with this machine, I'd just go with whatever the cheapest card you can find is. I don't think there are any X58's out there that offer integrated graphics, otherwise that would be a pretty good option. You could wait to see if the newer boards coming out next month have integrated graphics, but I don't know enough about them to tell if they will perform as well as the X58's in all other aspects.

Only other possible point: is physical size a fixed constraint? If you are able to move up to an Antec 900 case you should have absolutely no problems with interior dimensions. Should also help maintain cooler temps inside. mATX boards fit just fine in ATX cases.

 

[TDNEF]

Thanks for the quick responce!
Yeah I know - not having the integrated graphics is a real pain and for want I'm doing it would have done the job. Unfortunately mate the reason I went for this case is that I only have a limited amount of space and this is the largest case that will fit where I need it to be - yes I know a larger case would be better and if space allowed I would have a bigger case!
Cheers,

 

[TDNEF]

Would anyone recommend the following fan over the COGAGE TRUE Spirit?
Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 Dual Fan CPU Cooler. I think that one of the fans would have to be removed to stop it fowling up the first DIMM slot on the mobo...

 

[Yoosty]

See some problems with this build.

The Cocage TRUE Spirit is better then the Noctua, check out review below from HardOcp site.
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2009/07/23/intel_core_i7_heatsink_roundup_q309/5

First off you will need a Case with better Airflow then the one you picked, here are some below.
COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC $69.99 (Special $9.99 shipping fee, ends 8/17)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137

COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP $89.99 Free Shipping*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119196

Antec Nine Hundred $104.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021

COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP $99.99 Free Shipping*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197

Any of these Graphic card are better.
XFX HD-487A-ZHFC Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit $144.99 Free Shipping*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150394

XFX GS250XZDFC GeForce GTS 250 1GB Core Edition 256-bit $144.99 Free Shipping*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150356

EVGA 512-P3-1150-TR GeForce GTS 250 512MB 256-bit $134.99 ($119.99 after $15.00 Mail-In Rebate)
(Free WOW + 3D vision glasses kit w/ purchase, ends 8/31)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130468


Here is some very good Ram @ higher speed and lat Cas 7.
OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) OCZ3P1600LV6GK $114.99 Free Shipping*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227381(PC3 12800)

*note: either with the ram you picked or this ram, the CPU Cooler will not block any of the ram slots.

You will need this 8-pin Power Extension Cable for most Cases that has Bottom Mounted PSU.
1ST PC CORP. 12" 8-pin EPS extension cable Model CB-8M-8F - Retail $8.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812706004

Or you could wait until mid October for the Core i5 1156 chipsets' to come out. They will use Dual Channel DDR3 Ram and are suppose to be more mainstream. But not sure when Intel will be releasing there Core i5 Cpu with Intergrated Graphic onboard the processor, that might not be until 1st qtr of 2010.

Hope this helps you out some.

 

[buzznut]

For your use you may wish to see what core i5 brings. I like that suggestion. Seems like a little overkill for your needs.
I think your going to love that case too. I think it will have good airflow for a uATX.

Those two video cards are for gaming.
gl

 

[TDNEF]

Hi Yoosty and Buzznut,

Thanks for your replys. As I have said above I would love to get a bigger case - especially some of the ones that you posted as they look great. The case has to be no longer than 17.5inchs, so if you know of any cases that fit that descripton and would provide better airflow then please let me know.

With the regards to the GPU it doesn't have to be able to cope with the most up-to-date games which is why I really only want to spend around £50-70.

 

[TDNEF]

From other peoples experience do you reckon that this will be a fairly quiet PC once it is up and running?

 

[wathman]

size is really working against you with the small form factor cases. It won't be terribly loud, but since you have less interior volume to start with, you need to move a lot of air to maintain your interior temperatures. This usually means pushing up the RPMs on your case fans, and louder operation. Finding a graphics card and hard drives that run relatively cool will help, for the core i7 itself, not much else you can do besides getting the best cooler you can find. If you're comfortable with it, I'd say a simple watercooling setup might be an option if noise is a large issue.

 

[TDNEF]

With regards to the cooling then would anyone recommend the Corsair Hydro Series H50 CPU Water Cooling Kit? It seems to keep the CPU running pretty cool : http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1025/6/
It is priced at around £55.99 so is a little more than I wanted to pay for a cooler but I guess if it does its job well then it will be worth its price.

 

[wathman]

according to their benchmarks, it does perform pretty well, though the writer does make a valid point about reversing the airflow on the back of the case, usually you want to push all the hot air out the back side. Also, I'd see if you can find information on what kind of maintenance is needed with this water cooling solution. Water cooling has many advantages, though some kits require coolant changes, and you may have to watch out for tubing degradation. Kits have come a long way since I last messed with them, so perhaps someone else can give more insight.

 

[Yoosty]

With regards to the cooling then would anyone recommend the Corsair Hydro Series H50 CPU Water Cooling Kit? It seems to keep the CPU running pretty cool : http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1025/6/
It is priced at around £55.99 so is a little more than I wanted to pay for a cooler but I guess if it does its job well then it will be worth its price.

It is good, but I would not want to OC my CPU with it. Main reason that over a period of time, with higher CPU temps, you will start evaporating the fluid(water)out of the enclosed system. And since there is not way to replenish the fluid(water), it will loose its effectiveness in cooling.

If you want to go Water cooling I would suggest some thing like this.
Swiftech H20-220-APEX ULTIMA Complete Liquid Cool Kit $239.95
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=59_202&products_id=24646

Or build a Water Cool system, which you will need these parts and can add up to $400 to $500 depending which Brand you use.
Radiator: $50 to $250 range.
Reservior: $40 to $75 range.
Pump: $60 to $200 range.
Water Block: $70 to $90 range.
Tubing: $1.50 to $3.50 per foot or $25 for 8 feet/2.5mm.
Clamps: $1 per clamp (metal)

So unless you will be doing OC's 4.0ghz or more, then Air Cooling is the way to go. Unless you have money to burn(spend) and price is no object.

 

[wathman]

I don't think the OP is interested in doing a massive overclock, especially in such a small system he is planning. I mainly suggested water cooling for the better sound properties. The radiator fans usually don't have to work as hard as case fans to achieve the same level of cooling, and get the heat further away from the CPU faster than air cooling.

 

[Yoosty]

I don't think the OP is interested in doing a massive overclock, especially in such a small system he is planning. I mainly suggested water cooling for the better sound properties. The radiator fans usually don't have to work as hard as case fans to achieve the same level of cooling, and get the heat further away from the CPU faster than air cooling.

Yes I know, but was just pointing out the difference in costs. Also those All in One Water Cool systems usually are good for 6 months to a year.

The only enclosed system I would recommend is the CoolIt Systems Freezone Elite TEC CPU Cooler with MTEC, but that cost around $350 usd.

 

[wathman]

I guess he just has to decide if it's worth it, water cooling is quieter, but comes with extra maintenance and significant expense. For a workhorse computer that will be intended for probably 24/7 operation, it may just not be a good idea for this build.

 

[TDNEF]

I'm quite happy to stick with the CPU Cooler that I originally intended to use - COGAGE TRUE Spirit. It was just that when I saw the Corsair cooling kit for around £55 I thought that it may be the answer to keeping the stock intel core i7 running cool and quiet - but if your saying that perhaps in a years time that it will need replacing then it doesn't sound as though it would be worth the money.

 

[TDNEF]

Thanks for all your help so far.
Finally is there anything to choose between these 3 graphics cards as they are literally the same aren't they?

ASUS 9500GT 1GB DDR2 DVI VGA HDMI HDCP PCI-E - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/160922

XFX 9500GT 1GB DDR2 DVI VGA HDCP HDTV PCI-E - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/152584

Palit 9500GT 1GB DDR2 Super + VGA DVI HDMI PhysX and Cuda ready PCI-E
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/154994