Pics of my $600 Hot Rod...

darkfa8

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AMD Phenom II X2 720 BE, unlocked 4th core, OC'd to 3616.5, 1.456v
Xigmatek HDT-S1283, 1300RPM ~56CFM, 25dba
Dynex TIM spread with plastic card on cooler first
Idle: 30C Full Load: 51C (Prime95, 4 threads, Blended torture test)

Gigabyte GA-MA785GMT-UD2H
- IGX HD 4200 OC'd to 700MHz, 512MB

Crucial 2x2gb 7-7-7-21 DDR3-1666
OCZ Fatal1ty 550W PSU

Rosewill R102 mATX mid-tower with ARX FD1212-S3133E rear exhaust fan ~1400RPM

Sony Optiarc 24x DVDRW

Win7Pro 64-bit

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So far I've received suggestions on changing out the Dynex to MX2 to further improve CPU cooling.

I'm open to any other advice on what else I can do to improve cooling via AIR and under $50.

Maybe:
- higher CFM CPU and/or rear exhaust fan
- moving the RAM to the outtermost slots
- Northbridge and/or Southbridge fan/heatsink solution
- close up vent holes in side panel of case

I don't want to install a front case fan since as it sits, the current fans do suck in air.

Any other critques and/or advice would be great!
 
^ Nice clean build...that is the main advantage of using modular PSUs...
And as for some suggestions,
One of the easiest way to improve the cooling would be to change the CPU cooler orientation similar to this -
img1778k.jpg


CPU cooler fan -> Pull air and blows throught the heatsink -> Hot air blown out through the rear fan...
 

darkfa8

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thanks for the positive remarks on my wiring prowness... I'm pretty fanatical about wire cleanliness in everything I do.

Regarding the cpu cooler/fan direction, unfortunately, due to the design of the cooler mounting it does not allow me to rotate it 90* so it blows into and out of the case exhaust fan.

I have been contemplating changing to a different cooler that will allow me to do this.

See the instructions for the Xigmatek HDT-S1283 here: http://www.xigmatek.com/download/HDTS1283-usermanual.pdf

I'll have to look and see if the alternate mounting bracket for the Intel LGA775 can be used if I remove the blue plastic retainer from the MOBO

or

does anyone have an alternatre solution or cooler recommendation?
 

darkfa8

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I presume the CM Hyper 212+ can be repositioned?

I'll have to pull everything apart to see how I can utilize the push-pin retention clip. I suppose at the same time I can change over to some MX2 TIM.

I was also looking at the Scythe Mugen 2 SCMG-2000 cooler as another alternative based on frostytech's ratings...

It also seems that if I did upgrade the fan on the CPU cooler to a higher CFM output version that would also cool it down better. As far as noise, with all fans maxed out, I can't barely tell the machine is on. So a bump up on noise wouldn't be a big deal.
 

darkfa8

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Instead of forking over more money for a new cooler and pulling my MOBO out to install a new one, I'm thinking of instead just upgrading the existing CPU cooler fan and the exhaust fan to higher output versions.

An increase in noise wouldn't be a big deal since at the moment the machine is so quiet, I can't even tell that its on.

I am a bit confused those on the fan specs on the current cooler, HDT-S1283. On the box is lists it as a 99CFM 32dba (i think) fan, but on their website it shows a ~56CFM 25dba unit - so I'm not sure which specs are correct =\

Also, would closing up the vent holes on the side of the case help improve the "vacuum" effect/airflow pull-through from front-to-back.

Any other advice or comments would be appreciated!

I do plan to add a HD5750 or 5770, just am kinda waiting for the prices to drop a little more before I splurge.
 

darkfa8

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just an update:

I added the 212+ cooler, MIX TM2 goop and a XFX single slot 5770...

performance is great in my sim at my max monitor res of 1680x1050 at ~70-113fps at stock GPU speeds and my temps are relatively cool (CPU ~30-35C, GPU 45-55C).

So, pretty happy, though I'm always looking for upgrades and cheapo tweaks to squeak out decent performance or cooling gains...

any other new idears?