Corsair 700D - Do I REALLY need extra fans in case?

[Jack500]

Newbie here putting together my first build.

I have Corsair 700D case and geting mixed messages about cooling in this case. I would like to get people's opinions on whether I need additional fans or not.

Case - Corsair 700D
Motherboard - Intel i7
CPU - Intel i7-950
RAM - 24 gigs
Sound card - Omega Claro Plus
Video cards - 1 or 2 video cards, either GTX590 or 6990 (to run 3 monitors), if I can get away with one video card that would be great
# of Monitors - 3
Hard drives - two, Seagate 2 TB each

This system is to be used primarily for professional work. Nothing crazy like video editing, etc.
This is not a gaming PC, but at some point I would like to play a few top-notch 3-D games.
No overclocking.

Please let me know what you think. Thank you in advance!

Jack500

 

[hunter315]

I would get a few more for it especially considering two of its three fans are really just for redirecting airflow not for sucking more in or pushing more out, another exhaust or two at the top would be plenty of airflow.


As for the GPU, if you want to run 3 screens you can do that off of a single AMD card but i really would suggest against the 6990, is big, hot, noises, and more expensive than 2 6970s which will actually out perform it. You can run 3 screens off of a 6970 and for professional work a single would likely be enough. What type of work will you be using it for? If your programs support CUDA or Stream that could be a deciding point on which brand you want, but i would stay clear of dual GPU cards from both for a while.

 

[Jack500]

hunter315,

Thanks for your reply as I appreciate your comments.

1. Well, there is one intake on the bottom and one exhaust on the back. I see one for redirecting "traffic". (unless I'm misintrepreting what you are saying)
So, that would not be enough, huh? I could put 3 120mm exhaust fans on top. Do you know what would be the best that I can get in terms of
a. heat removal
b. extreme quietness
I definitely want those three fans on top to be quiet.

2. The work I will be doing is nothing too involved. Basic Office 2010, Skype conferences (at times multiple conferences), personal video editing perhaps.

You mentioned that 6990 is big, hot, noisy, etc. Oh, they just released it. Do you have one and are you commenting on it from personal use?

Why do you say to stay away from dual GPA cards for a while?

 

[hunter315]

Read through the launch review
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-6990-antilles-crossfire,2878.html

They recorded its fan putting out 57.6 dB under load, thats pretty loud, a normal conversation from 1 meter away is generally considered to be about 60 dB. From the usages you described it could easily be handled by a 6950 or 6970, both of which are much cooler and quieter than the 6990 and would still let you play games at good settings when you wanted to.

Check out some of the Scythe fans, they are reasonably quiet, you dont need a lot of heat removal potential, just a bit better air flow in there would help quite a bit since the Corsair cases are really more designed for liquid cooling which is why they dont ship packed with fans like most larger towers do.

 

[Jack500]

Will read that launch review, thanks.

Well, I am going with an Intel motherboard so the 69** series is a no-go for compatibility reasons.

Any recommendations from Nvidia?

 

[hunter315]

What makes you think that an intel motherboard wont work with an AMD GPU?

You can use a single AMD or nVidia card on an intel or an AMD based board, you cannot run nVidia SLI on most AMD boards, but most intel boards support nVidia SLI and almost all will support Crossfire.

 

[Jack500]

I stand corrected then. Thanks for clarifying! (please remember, I'm a newbie so I'm really trying to learn here).

So, a single 6970 should not be a problem with 3 monitors running and the work I am doing. And worse case scenario if I need the extra card, I'll plug in another 6970 with the board I have selected (Intel DX58SO2). Correct?

This one looks good, but it is out of stock at NewEgg. Not a bad price either.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121417&cm_re=6970-_-14-121-417-_-Product

But, if I went Nvidia route (excluding the GTX 590), I would HAVE to use two cards. Correct?

Do you have any preference of ATI vs. Nvidia cards?

 

[hunter315]

Depending on the 6970 you get it may have the capability to drive more than 3 monitors, something like that one could run two of the display ports and two more off the DVI/HDMI ports

nVidia cards on the other hand still retain the restriction of 2 monitors per card regardless of the series so you would need two.

I currently use a 4850 in my system, i had an ATI 9550 in my older one so you might say im a bit biased towards AMD but really my preference is for what can give you the performance you want for the best price, if you can find a better deal on a pair of reasonably strong nVidia cards go for it.

 

[Jack500]

Hmmm, let's see here...

Option 1 - 2 GTX580 cards = $1K OR
Option 2 - 1 6970 = $380

Even if the GTX590 could run 3 monitors, I think the price is going to be at least $700. Unless it will run very quiet and the benefits of it are so much greater than a 6970, the 6970 seems to be the way to go.

Now, why did you mention earlier to stay away from dual GPA cards for a while?

 

[hunter315]

Dual GPU cards have a lot of heat trapped in a smaller space so they will always have slightly higher failure rates, but with a card like the 6990 performing about the same as 2 6950s in CF but costing more its not worth it, the nVidia GTX 590 will also be dumping out a ton of heat, and likely get beat by GTX 560s in SLI, as long as you have a board that can handle two cards a dual GPU card isnt really the best option.


If you were going to go nVidia i would go for 2 GTX 560 Tis, in SLI they will give the same or better performance in games as a 6970 and would support nVidia surround(3 monitors), comes out much closer to the price of a single 6970 than a pair of GTX 580s does.

 

[Jack500]

Oh, I see. Good point.

It seems that two GTX 560 would still come out a bit more expensive than the Asus 6970 I was interested in. Currently sold out at NewEgg. I just hope they restock them soon.
I think I'll just go with the 6970 then!

Few final questions (for now)...
1. How do I know whether the board I want to buy (Intel BOXDX58SO2) can handle two cards? (just in case I need a second 6970)
2. What's your take on fixed vs. variable speed fans? I'd figure I'd just the save the time and have them all run constantly. I don't know if fiddling around variable speed is all that worth it. What do you think?

 

[Jack500]

Best answer selected by Jack500.