The Official PC building thread -3rd Edition

I have to say though, when installed properly MRK's cooler is almost as good as a TRUE.

Bigwill, I'm not trying to be negative. I'm just saying I could never justify spending so much money on a fan controller(probably something to do with the fact that I run all my fans at full speed).

 

I use one of these in both my PCs:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811998808

and my main PC also has one of these:
ttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813999251

The Zalman is very versatile, but for a silencing enthusiast the Sunbeam is excellent, offering all voltages from 0-12 as opposed to the usual lower end cutoff of 6V.

Just be advised that neither of these units are compatible with cases that don't have front doors, as the LEDs combined put out a similar amount of light to a pair of 12" cold cathodes, but as focused beams. They hurt if you're looking at them.

 

I can verify what Sammy is talking about with the Sunbeam... I have that unit and it works great but it is BRIGHT!!!! I had it in my CM RC-690 and had to take it out.. LOL. I'll install it in my other case if I need the control but I doubt it..

...gm

 

now if you had it in the 690 that means you only had 4 ODD's in there. there is some kinda law to have all 5 bays with ODD's/....lol

thinking im gonna talk to microcenter and see if they match prices with online retail... and maybe get that ga-ep45-ds3r for $134 that newegg has it for right now...

 

mrk44

Regarding Coretemp. If you go to settings and then type -10 Tjmax offset you will lower the tjmax to the same temp that RealTemp is reading. I've just lowered by FSB by a couple of notches and my vcore a bit too since 3.8 GHz was my original goal. Note that core 1 sensor is stuck so core 0 is the actual temp.

 

Sophocles: So which setting shows me the ACTUAL temp of my cores? TJ max at 95C or at 105C? Or am I thinking about this the wrong way?

 

MRK, lol I don't think anyone knows...

 

What abuzar says is true since Intel has never released it in any release docs, but the creator of RealTemp has put in a great deal of study that suggests that 95C is closer to the truth. In the end it doesn't matter because the distance between actual core temps and the tjmax of either will be the same regardless. Using the setting I suggested will at least give you the comparison that's being used by most.

 

It's a 10 degree difference, realistically I think if we even saw it reach 80 we'd get worried, especially if overvolting.

 

that's understandable..i feel the same way about (graphic cards) why people pay $300 to $400 or more on cards for a $150 to $200 Motherboard now that's crazy to me.. get a HD TV instead.. i will not pay more $70 bucks for a card..That's what they got playstations,X-box,Wii for..i get online and play online with my ps2 console with my computer running also with my boardband connection.i feel the 3 main biggest parts to a computer is #1 the cpu #2 motherboard #3Memory those 3 gotta work together first..I rather pay more for the cpu than any other part in the computer reason bein it doe's cost the most we all know that..and reason i bought my fan controller is ..I like lights and switches and gauges not warning lights saying you need to (add Oil) like some cars use to have and still do plus it works as a dimmer also for my led's.i can lower speeds half the speeds max the speeds and turn them off individually or all at once it's up to me like a air condition control, and don't have keep my monitor on just to look at my cpu temp and other temp's there right there in my face..for $40 buck I make that at my job with in 2 in a half hours of work..so it was'nt a big deal to spend that little for that..just look have much people spend on fast food daily..lol

 

Each to their own Will, but the Thermalright cooler is genuinely very little extra for your money. There's certainly a reason for having a faster graphics card, it just might not apply to you. PC games can look infinitely better than consoles if your graphics card is good enough, and when there are so many beautiful PC specific titles out there, some of us like them looking their best, or the best we can afford.

If I was a video editor / encoder, animator or used folding at home I'd probably be more interested in having a Quad core CPU, but as it stands I'm not, so I don't really need one.

 

yea i played COD4 today... man is that game awsome. i gotta get it. $59.99 is nuts for a PC game...lol sam make me a copy and send it my way...lol

ok getting ready to pack up and go to the drive in to see the dark knight...

 

Hehe, enjoy! That film's on my 'to see' list purely on the strength of how much I liked Batman Begins...

Here's what COD4 looks like at its best...
http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/image.html?image=MTIxNTk3NjMwNHdjT0psaWNvM3pfOF82X2wucG5n

 

I also agree with a lot of your other points as well since my CPU water cooling probably cost me at least twice as much as the best and most expensive air coolers that one can buy. Where I might take an exception is in regards to motherboard and graphics card costs in comparison to consoles and HD TV.

I use my PC not just for the run of the mill basic uses that many others use theirs for. It is most often my HD TV and I can play both HD DVD and Blu-ray on it in full 1080P with over 420 watts RMS of 5:1 surround sound. We're partially in agreement regarding graphics cards, but I set my limits to around $200 since I do some gaming both on and off line and I prefer computer graphics, games, and play to those of consoles.

The other minor disagreement is with motherboards because a cheap motherboard often lacks the choices that a few more dollars can get them that can make all the difference. MY current board sells for around $170 but it is loaded with features that I approve of, not the least of those being a 16 Phase power supply. Most under $100 boards have only 3 phase power supplies and that can be a problem for an overclocker unless you want to watch one melt when trying to match it up to a 4 core processor and overclock it. So in my view matching a processor, motherboard, and memory are indeed the important points of a system, and one can't place enough emphasis on cooling. What's the point of having expensive components that are improperly cooled?

 

CPU:
Importance to a normal user: high
Importance to a gamer: high
Importance to a power user (encoding, folding, video editing): very high
Importance to an overclocker: very high
Motherboard:
Importance to a normal user: moderate
Importance to a gamer: high
Importance to a power user: high
Importance to an overclocker: very high
Graphics card:
Importance to a normal user: low
Importance to a gamer: Very high
Importance to a power user: moderate
Importance to an overclocker: moderate
Cooling:
Importance to a normal user: moderate
Importance to a gamer: high
Importance to a power user: high
Importance to an overclocker: very high
PSU:
Importance to anyone: Vital!

 

Sophocles: I am drooling at the mouth at what you are saying about your water cooling. I have had my PC for only about 2-3 weeks so far, and it has been running so hot, anything I hear about other people having temps that are as low as yours (and OCed that high at the same time) is making me go crazy!! Can you (or anybody else) give me some suggestions on good water cooling?? I have a lot of money left over from my build budget (mainly cuz my free GPU) and I want to spend it on cooling!!
And is it easy to install?

EDIT: What about this? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835108105

 

mrk44,

I can't answer your questions in regards to water cooling. I don't use it and don't intend to in the near future. I did post the temps of my Q9450 @ 3.4ghz under load in this thread http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/313/83263 the ambient temp was/is 76f. are your temps anywhere close to mine?

 

Deadrum33,

First off, unless you are water cooled, phase change or something like that, I doubt the accuracy of your 24C CPU temp! The ambient temperature would have to be about 22C/72F to achieve that temperature with good cooling. With air, you can't have a lower CPU temp than the room temp! July and August are the hottest months here and 115F is pretty much a daily thing outside. Between my room AC and the Swamp cooler for the rest of the house it stays about 82-85F in here, so my idle temps stay about 30-31C.

I just checked the temps on the AMD 64x2 4800+, as we've just turned on the Swamp cooler. It's 88F/30C in the room and it's idling at 36C at the moment. That's a very good result for that high an ambient temperature! Normally the humidity is very low, so 82-85F is very comfortable!

Best Regards,
Russ

 

Playstation 3 is basicly and computer within itself with some on the same features as a in home computer only thing it lacks that you can't burn discs with it,but it has a motherboard, a core micro processor and for real high def pictures all gotta have is a good high def tv..you can swope out hards drives and most more with the ps3 and plus for $400 dollars.i do more with ps3 than a simply video card can do..you have options..I guess no 1 read the specs on the ps3 system? Sorry guys for the price of video card that's another nice board,memory or a cpu towards another build..that's the way..i see it..not step on feet but like you say each his own..I'm a (dvd burner guy) not a gamer guy..just 4 Playstation..


@Russ

how you doin..i thought would post in my temp sense..i turned the E6750 back down alittle 3.0ghz..right now..i got the 4/ 120mm's side and top controlled at 600rpm's my room is dark at moment and the certral air is set at 69c kick in..basically all i do is dvd rebuilder 3 passes and it get know higher than 51c sometime 47c..I'm like that but that's the maxs..

and this is what it reads on my fan controller front panel display..
all yea there alarm system on the fan controller to let you know a fan has stopped running or your temp is rising to high..

 

MORT:

These are my idle temps on coretemp. As you can see, they are not very cool. Mine is not OCed, running at stock 2.66 GHz...