New Build Questions

[Wrecked]

Hello, I have some build questions on a new desktop that I am putting together. There are 6.

1. Would you think this build would work, does anyone see any issues with the combination of these parts?

Antec TruePower New TP-750 750W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.3 / EPS12V V2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC "compatible with Core i7/Core i5" Power Supply

Mushkin Enhanced Essentials 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 996586

Intel Core i5-750 2.66 GHz, Four Cores, 8 MB L3 Cache

Asus nVidia GeForce GTX470 1280MB DDR5 2DVI Mini HDMI PCI-Express Video Card

Samsung F3 HD103SJ 1 TB, 7200 RPM HDD

Lite-On iHAS124 OEM 24x DVD+R, 8x DVD+RW, 48x CD ROM

Antec Three Hundred (Case)

GA-H55M-UD2H H55 LGA1156 Max-16GB DDR3 ATX 2PCIE16 2PCI LAN (gigabyte motherboard)



2. Is the motherboard listed above the GA-H55M-UD2H able to overclock effectively and easily? Are there any known stable overclocking settings with the I5-750 in the 3.4GHz+ range?

3. I have an "allergy" to plastics, some silicons, and other chemicals that produce electronic odors. It inflames my sinues and causes great pain. I am wondering if the case I have listed the Antec Three Hundred has a lot of plastic in it. Would anyone be able to recommend a case that was ALL metal? As in no plastic housings, removable fans if they were plastic, or even metal fans?
(the case does not have to look good, I don't care if it looks like a rusty tin can as long as it doesn't bother my head)

4. This ties in with 3. I want to water cool my Processor AND Northbridge chipset. Does anyone know of a good solution that would do that? Also, does this case have enough room for that setup? If not, can anyone recommend an alternative? (that fits with my issues in question 3)

5. Does anyone know of any power cord extensions(for power supply connections) that are available? Since the power supply has plastic, and other irritants in it, I was going to run it under a hood, and simply have the wires extend out to connect inside the case. Is there an issue with wires 2-3 feet long used in this manner?

6. Does anyone know of a good keyboard (most keyboards don't bother my head as the plastic resin is different) that has keys akin to a laptop keyboard? Meaning the keys are quick/responsive, take very little pressure to push, have a very short keystroke, and are grouped somewhat more closely together?

That's just about it. Any insights would be helpful.

Thanks a lot!

 

[MadAdmiral]

1. ) I see a major problem. You're not using Sandy Bridge. It'll be the same cost (possibly lower), yet will give you 20-30% more performance. You're also using the GTX 470, which is a horrible choice of a GPU. Actually, there is very little I like about the build. I'll throw one together down below.

2.) See #1

3.) Anything Lian Li. Of course, most everything in a PC is silicon or plastic (don't forget the fans), so you'd probably do better if you put the entire build under a hood and ran the output cables (HDMI, USB) outside of it.

4.) Cooling the northbridge is pointless. Don't even bother with it.

5.) See #3

6.) No idea.

Here's a better build at what I'm guessing is a similar price:

CPU: i5-2500K $225. Already 20-30% faster than the i5-760, and can easily be overclocked over 4.0 GHz without breaking a sweat.
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD3 $130
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 2x2 GB 1600 mhz CAS Latnecy 7 $65. Why are you touching 1333 mhz sticks when you want to overclock?
HDD: The F3 is good. $55 with promo code
GPU: HD 6950 for $300 (can turn it into a 6970 with a BIOS flash for free). If you absolutely need a nVidia card, the GTX 570 is $350.
PSU: 750W is overkill since you're not getting a SLI/Crossfire board. You could probably get by with a 550W, but here's a great XFX 650W.
Case: Lian Li PC-7FN $96 with promo code
Optical: Whatever's cheapest.

 

[Wrecked]

MadAdmiral,

Thanks a lot, I see that this configuration would do much better, and only cost 200 dollars more (with the Geforce card, they just have a little better drivers I think.) So that is great, I should really keep up with hardware a little better.

Questions though, on the Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD3, is there enough space in that, and in the case to put a water cooling solution on the cpu? Would it interfere with the ram at all? People claim that the slots are pretty close to the socket. I do not want fans blowing air around, I do much better in a passively cooled environment, that is why I want to get it water cooled, and then just put the radiator as far away as I can. In fact, I plan on using long USB cords to keep the system at least 15 ft from me, if not more (Not sure if there are good USB repeaters to get a little more length for the keyboard/mouse.)

I want to cool the northbridge, because most of them were in days past with air, and I don't want air blowing around if I could help it. I don't want to put the entire pc out of the hood because it draws air out of the house to the outside, raising the heating/cooling bill.. I'd rather just put the powersupply/radiator in a hood with ONLY outside air circulating. The rest of the pc would be inside, but in it's own room partition. If you think it would do fine though with no air whatsoever blowing across it though, I would be more than happy to go that route... I'd even be willing to throw on a large passive sink on the northbridge if that would do better.

I'm also planning on water block cooling the gtx570, (if there isn't one, I'll delay using the system till there is) What would you recommend?

Lastly, what would you recommend for the CPU water cooling? I'm open to suggestions, I was going to use the Zalman CPU Water Cooling Sys Reserator 1 V2, but I'm betting any would do the job admirably. What about noise? Are they quieter, or about the same as air cooling?

Thanks a lot!

--Wrecked

 

[MadAdmiral]

The driver argument for nVidia is extremely stale. Back in the day (a good four or five years ago), ATI cards were know for driver issues. However, after AMD bought ATI (about four or five years ago), the cards and drivers have gotten a lot better. In fact, the most recent driver problem was with nVidia's last update before their Fermi cards. That driver actually caused computers to be destroyed. In my book, that means nVidia loses all respect for their "superior" drivers.

There is always enough space to put in water cooling, assuming you run it outside of the case, though some high end cases can use an internal reservoir and pump. However, water cooling isn't that great. It's expensive (a good setup will easily add $500 to the total cost of a build), requires a lot of maintenance, and only cools as well as the best air cooling solutions out there (which will only cost around $90-100).

If you really want to do a passively cooled machine, look into mineral oil cooling. It's where you submerge the entire machine in a fish tank filled with mineral oil. It's basically silent, but is somewhat exotic. It'd also be cheaper than water cooling. You don't need a case, extra heatsinks, water blocks, reservoirs, or pumps. All you really need is a fishtank or other watertight box and mineral oil. You can probably get that for about the same as a high quality case and heatsink. Most of the guides out there use plastic tanks, but I'm sure you change that to glass or metal without any issues.

Though, mineral oil cooling can be a bit odd. I'm not sure I'd want to throw all new parts into it at first go. You could always use an old build to try it out first...