discussion Finally Gave it a Go

[zc1]

Anyways nice first build zc1! Pretty sick to have that rig and an Eyefinity setup for your first build.

Thanks Headsh0t. The initial plan was for the case to last me 10+ years and just swap out components as needed over that time. I had so much fun doing the build, though, that I've been trying to find an excuse to do another one.

The Eyefinity setup was an alignment of the stars type of occurrence. I already had a 3-monitor setup with the two Nvidia cards on my Dimension E9200, and transferred that setup over to this machine. When the graphics and windows boot slowness problems persisted, I decided to get new cards, and to give ATI a try this time around. I wanted the same setup as before, so it was either two separate cards or 1 card + an active displayport to DL-DVI adaptor (which nobody had locally, initially). Then I found good prices on the Sapphire vapor-x cards and a single adaptor popped up in the same shop as the cards, so I went with that -- glad that I did. These cards are also very quiet, which is nice.

 

[zc1]

Wow... I want to buy two more monitors now. Looks really good :thumb: God that case is big :shok:

Thanks AmuseMe. The three displays have been great for productivity and now should be great for gaming as well. My daughter loves that she can watch Strawberry Shortcake on one monitor while I work on the other two when she's feeling like she needs some time with Daddy even if he is busy :biggrin:

 

[Rudel]

Looks f-ing great...

 

[AmuseMe]

Thanks AmuseMe. The three displays have been great for productivity and now should be great for gaming as well. My daughter loves that she can watch Strawberry Shortcake on one monitor while I work on the other two when she's feeling like she needs some time with Daddy even if he is busy :biggrin:

That would make it so much easier to study with. I could have a great movie or TV show playing on one screen, do research on the second, and have Word on the third... Damn that be great.

 

[misterd]

Well done sir! Great build, and even better for a 1st timer, looks superb and clean. Welcome aboard! :clap:

 

[zc1]

Thanks Misterd! It's been a long week...looking forward to actually enjoying the new setup this weekend!

 

[zc1]

Update:

It didn't take long to get into overclocking the q6600. I read a few overclocking guides and then worked my way up slowly. I just picked up a Noctua D14, but wanted to see how far I could push things with the H50, first, since there's some pretty strong support for the H50 online.

I installed a Scythe Slipstream 120 fan (1900 RPM, 110 CFM) on the H50 rad in place of the stock Corsair H50 fan (60 CFM; on top of the radiator). My setup is push-pull, now. Initially it was push-push, but switching to push-pull dropped my peak temps at 3.4 GHz from 69C to 66C.

Installing the Scythe fan dropped idle temps by 1 degree at 3.4 GHz and 3.5 GHz (to 37C and 39C, respectively). It dropped peak temp @ 3.4 GHz from 66C to 62C and also made it possible to run at 3.5 GHz without exceeding the magical 71C mark (peak temp of 68C; 1.46V vcore). Prior to the fan change, I couldn't run at 3.5 GHz without core temps exceeding 71C. 3.6 GHz was still not attainable, because of excessive temps (vcore was 1.47V; stopped the test when core temp reached 70C as there really wasn't any point continuing).

I'm sure that If I replaced the bottom case fan with another slipstream 120 then temps would drop across the board but I don't really feel like pushing the H50 any further because (1) the noise level is significantly greater with one 110 CFM fan, never mind two of them, and (2) I don't feel like paying $25 shipping for a $5 140mm to 120mm fan adapter.

All said and done, the H50 served me well, topping out at 3.5 GHz (because of my temp goal) with the addition of a high-output fan. The main cost, and the reason I wouldn't run this setup long-term, is the significant increase in noise. It's not all that bad for short-term, but definitely gets annoying pretty quickly.

The Legit Reviews composite test data show the DH14 to be significantly better than the H50 on an i7 (7C difference in peak temps of overclocked 920), so I'm hoping that that effect translates across to my q6600 setup as well.

 

[CroSsFiRe2009]

Hmm..how's pump noise on that H50? Slipstreams don't have much static pressure afaik. You would have been better off with the s-flex's but those cost quite a bit more.

 

[zc1]

I went with the Scythe for the price, and hoped (but honestly didn't expect) that just the high CFM would make a difference. I was pretty surprised at how much of a difference there was in peak temps. The S-Flex at the local shop was twice the price of the slipstream.

I don't hear the H50 pump at all with the case closed; all I hear is the fans (particularly the Scythe). With the case open, the H50 is clearly audible, but not annoying at all.

 

[zc1]

I went ahead and installed a set of Silverstone FN181-BLs to replace the stock bottom case fans. These flow just as much air, and use only 3W, each. I also installed a Cooler Master R4 in place of the stock 120mm exhaust fan. In the photos you can also see the Noctua monster (NH-D14) that replaced the Corsair H50 for CPU cooling duties. All fans are controlled by a Scythe Kaze Server.

All I'm waiting for now (I think) is NZXT sleeved cable extenders for the 3-pin fan and ATX power connectors, and a new DVD drive.