Athlon II x4 635 + Asus M4A89GTD

if u are goin to game u need better gpu

+^1... Proximon's Suggestions

Couple of additonal notes...

1) None of the motherboards listed will work with your case as it is a 4U factor (Unless I'm missing something?). You will need to switch your case to something else to use any of those motherboards.

2) You'll need a HSF if you go with Proximon's CPU (does come with one). I would go with the Sunbeam CR-CCTF, if & when you switch the case. It will not work in your current case due to it's size.

3) I would go with this case and PSU combo... Antec 300 Illuson and Antec EarthWatts EA650

Yep good points, but I think he linked the Scythe Mugen.

You could be right about the 4U... I suspect it's also ATX compatible though....

yep here it is:
http://www.arktechinc.com/4u500/4u500.htm

Good find on the case fitting an ATX motherboard.


I would say that none of his listed heat sinks outside of the H50 will fit into his case. I would go with a Scythe Low Profile heat sink over the H50 though.

Thank you for your feedback, Proximon and tecmo!

>> Yes, just install the cooler up-front. Did you verify that the Scythe will fit in the case?

No, but thank you very much for pointing that out. How can I verify it fits?

I think it might be best to wait and buy the cooler last after I have the case and motherboard and I can measure.

The Antec 300 is 8.1 inches wide and the ARK 4U is 7 inches, a difference of 1.1 inch or 27.94 millimeters. I'd really prefer the horizontal case versus tower if possible. In fact, I'd skip overclocking if I needed a bigger cooler and it couldn't fit in the case.

Any idea how much clearance there is in the Antec 300? It's probably not an exact comparison, but it will give us some idea.

The cooler I picked is the Scythe SCMG-2100 and it's 130 x 100 x 158 mm. I'm not sure which is the height, but I think it's 158mm based on the dimensions of their other coolers.

When you say "low-profile" which one are you referring to? The SCSK-1100?

Scythe SCSMZ-2000 = 119mm tall?
HS = 94 x 122 x 94 mm
Fan on top = 92 x 92 x 25 mm
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Scythe SCSK-1100 = 76mm tall?
HS = 105 x 116 x 64 mm
Fan on top = 100 x 100 x 12 mm
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Scythe SCKBT-1000 = 157mm tall?
HS = 124 x 133 x 132 mm
Fan on top = 120 x 120 x 25 mm
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...


Here are the comments in the newegg reviews for the Ark 500 4U case about coolers:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N...

"The only minor case flaw is that some tall CPU coolers can obstruct the stability rail by a few mm. I put a few extra washers in underneath the rail which worked for me."

--

"pretty sturdy. fits my standard 19" equipment rack just fine, plenty of room for hard drives, pci cards, and even a zalman 9300 cpu cooler(if you dont need to use the extra hard drive bays)"

"i stuffed it with the following: ga-ep45c-ds3r, e8400 w/zalman 9300 cooler, 8800gt,..."

ZALMAN CNPS 9300AT SuperFlo CPU Cooler
http://www.zalman.com/Eng/product/Product_Read.asp?idx=...
61.35(L) x 108(W) x 132.5(H) mm

--

"If ordering a large CPU heat sink make sure you don't get one that is too tall for the case. Most 120mm CPU fans will not fit inside this 4U (7 inch) tall case. I am using a Rosewill RCX-Z3 92mm CPU Cooler on a ASUS M3A78-EM AM2 motherboard. Once assembled their is less than a half inch between the cooler and the case cover. "

Rosewill RCX-Z3 92mm CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
HS: 101.7 x 93.6 x 67.8mm
Fan on side: 92 x 92 x 25mm

--

"The support beam for pci devices interfered with my CPU cooler."

--

"metal brace for extra card support can interfere with CPU cooler."

"It works great, except that the internal cross brace for cards collides with the CPU cooler on my old Athlon64 (Asus K8NE board). Luckily it is removable."

Previous 2 comments from same reviewer.

--

"The case has excellent airflow and at 4U is high enough for the largest CPU Cooler."

"My Thermaltake CL-P0401 110mm CPU Cooler, fits with a little extra room. "

Previous 2 comments from same reviewer.

Thermaltake CL-P0401 110mm CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
HS: 147 x 92 x 143mm
Fan on side: 110 x 110 x 25mm

--

"pretty spacious for a server build (which doesn't require an aftermarket cooler or fancy gfx card)."

--

"I can't use the extra dual hard drive rail that hangs in the middle of the case because I have an oversized CPU cooler and I can't move it down because of cabling and PCI cards. But this is just because of my layout, I'm sure different layouts would be different."

--

"My mobo doesn't have lan or cpu fan cooler light pins so those LEDs just sit dark, but that's not much of a con."

--


Looking at the comments, I think the Scythe 2000 (119mm) or 1100 (76mm) will fit. With this small cooler, how much overclocking will I be able to do?




From the Scythe 1100 customer reviews:

"Cons: It cant cool my Phenom II X4. stock cooler keeps a low 57-58C, this cooler while quiet cant keep my core below the 62 C limit AMD specs for

Other Thoughts: if you have a mid power CPU it would work nicely, but I needed low profile for my HTPC, but this just cannot keep the temperature down. hence the 3 eggs "

Another review:

"This was exactly what I needed as my power supply is right above the CPU socket of my ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO. Anything else would not have fit. Using it to cool an oc'd X4 II 955 (@ 3.45Ghz). Keeping it at 39C idle, <60C under Prime95 or 57C under Everest Ultimate. (Using Arctic Silver.)

OC'd it to 3.52Ghz, but it was getting above 60C and I didn't want to chance it. Might look at doing the same as the below post and getting a different fan, but any taller fan for me, and it might not fit in my case."

Another:

"Cools well with ten percent over-clocking. If you want more cooling . . . then you might get the bigger brother (it is 120mm).

Antec Minuet350 Piano Black Steel MicroATX Slim Case Computer Case 350W 80PLUS Certified Power Supply,
BIOSTAR TA790GX XE AM2+/AM2 AMD 790GX HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard, AMD Phenom II X4 940 Deneb 3.0GHz..."


I think it might be best to wait and buy the cooler last after I measure. Please let me know what you think.



PSU: The TP-650 looks great. I'll look into that one and other 650w power supplies.


I think I'm going to stick with the Athlon for now and guarantee the four cores. When/If I start getting into overclocking next year, then I'll look into all of the options with the possibility of upgrading the CPU.



>> I think you should get an 870 board and discrete graphics card.

Please let me know why you like the 870.

I removed the 870 from my list because I didn't think I needed 3 PCI slots. More PCIe slots would be better, I thought. Any other reasons you think I should get this board, other than 2 more SATA ports?

If I consider a Gigabyte board, why not the GA-890XA-UD3? Because the 870 combo deal is a great one? Any other reasons? (To clarify, I'd rather get functionality than save $20-$50. But if the additional functionality is limited, I like $50 in my pocket just as much as the next person.)

After looking into this more and considering your comments, I think you guys really like discrete graphics cards for the gaming factor, but I won't be gaming at all until next year at the earliest. I think I can get a great card then. Is a discrete graphics card going to have better performance for "office work" than on-board video?

Nonetheless, if I get a Gigabyte board and a discrete graphics card now, I'm thinking I'll get a low-end card this year like the one I linked to in my post, and then next year I'll get something really great.

870A + RAM = $150 + $60 XFX video card + tax = $230

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite...
890XA + RAM = $170 + $60 XFX video card + tax = $250

3 PCIe x1 slots vs 3 PCI slots are worth $20 to me, I think.

890XA $135 + G.Skill RAM $110 = $245 + $60 video card = $305
890XA + OCZ RAM combo + $60 video card = $283.74 - $15 rebates = $268.74

Is G.Skill RAM worth $20. I'll pay it if it is.

870 + G.SKill RAM combo = $150 + XFX $60 video card + tax = $244.89 shipped - $10 rebate = $234.89

890XA + OCZ RAM combo + XFX $60 video card = $268.74 - $10 rebate = $258.74

Asus with on-board video $133.54 after bcb + $101.74 G.Skill RAM = $235.28

Asus M4A89GTD + Athlon II x4 635 = $218.42 after bcb + $101.74 G.Skill RAM = $320.16 shipped


Please let me know why you think I should get the Gigabyte or if there's any reason I should not get the Asus. Will the XFX card give me noticably better performance for video and office work, until I can upgrade and get a good card for gaming?

Thank you very, very much for your help! I really appreciate it.

-- Ed

That's a whole lotta text and I'm past my bedtime   I would go for an upright 92mm cooler for a good blend of size and cooling. Zigmatek or Sunbeam
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
That Rosewill you linked looks about right also.

As to the 870, I wasn't really looking at PCI-E slots. If you need a bunch of those then it won't work. It was more a budget choice.

Thank you very much Proximon and tecmo for your feedback!

Your comment about the cooler fitting in the case was absolutely CRITICAL and saved me money, time, and headaches. Thanks!!

I decided to get another case, the Lian-Li PC-7FN mid-tower. Fortunately, I figured out a good place to put it: behind my monitor. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out where I was going to put a tower case, and I much prefer this case over the other one.

I also decided to get the Mugen 2 because it's quiet, highly rated, and should fit in this case.

Thanks again for your help! Much appreciated!

-- Ed

Best answer selected by webdev50.