The Official PC building thread -3rd Edition

@Russ

Well Russ it's up and running the Old Boy,I've been putting it off or did'nt have time to mess with it and put it together,I ran into few problems Locating the Audio drivers. I have tons of discs around with different drivers on them that,I burned along time ago and, I hav'en even run across the original board disk yet so,I just found a site on it for all,I needed D815I'm satisfyed to a point how in the heck can.I plug a card reader into it Do you know? right now . I got everest on it and cpuz,now if the temp on that P3 is that cool it's running lower that my Q9550

http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/2553/370n.jpg

right now i'm networking information back and fourth and doin all from the UD3P, I would love to find me alittle better AGP 8x video than, I have atlease with a fan on the card,I put Windows 2000 Pro on it partitioned the drive back to ntfs from fat32 was gonna leave Windows Me on it at first which needs Fat32 to run but changed my mind and wanted to see 2000 instead gonna play around with it and have alittle fun and Russ thanks again Parts trading, Now it's Time to go back to speed with 775 but Look out,I think,I'm going to the Dark side that is (AMD) to try it out and learn something new your not a true computer wizard Unless you try it all how can you learn something unless you have hands on experience and no how to see how it works out Up in coming AMD, I'll make you proud yet Russ.lol

*image changed to a link as it was wrecking the page margins*

 

Will,
I should have thought to send you the drivers for the MB. I have them right on my computer. I chased them down at Intel. The parts trading worked out good for the both of us. The Video card, worked wonders for Russell's games and is well beyond the capabilities of the nVidia 6150 graphics of the on board video. It also greatly improved the detail of the graphics. All the action stuff works smooth and there's no longer any slowdowns at all, no matter how many men and action objects there are on screen.

The setup you have for the P3 is pretty good, with it's only real drawback being the inability to address any more than 500MB of Ram. It's the first motherboard I ever saw with a motherboard jumper to get at advanced bios settings. Not much there though! LOL!! I'm glad it's up and running OK, and glad that it works with your home network.

best Regards,
Russ

 

I know I've posted a lot of these recently, but this one is actually going to get done lol. It's for my mother since her's more or less died the other night, and she decided to get a new one rather the try and fix it.

Russ, do you remember how loud the stock fans on the CM 534 were? It needs to be as quiet as possible, but I don't know how to tell how silent a case is before I buy it.

i3-530
COOLER MASTER Centurion 534
GIGABYTE GA-H55M-USB3
CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7

TIA,

remdaw

 

Stock coolermaster fans are rarely loud, because they don't push any air
All looks good to me...


Will: Wise move on using 2000 instead of Me on the P3 system. It's a much better OS!

 

Thanks sam.

 

Red_Maw,
The stock fans on the CM 534 aren't very loud. They only seem loud when you put something quieter in. Then you notice them right away. They push about 28 cfm. I have a Silverstone in place of the stock rear fan, FN-121-BL 53.5 cfm. Get just the plain FN-121 if you don't want blue lights.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835220031
I'm actually thinking about replacing it with one of these Scythe fans, for more airflow, but just as quiet.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185058
It will add another 15 cfm to the exhaust air, and do it quietly.
I replaced the side fan with a Scythe 40 cfm 800 rpm fan (intake).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185057
I plan to replace the front CM fan (intake) with one of these to get a little more air over the hard drives, at least another 10 cfm. The air duct, I replaced with a silverstone 80mm FM83 (exhaust). it's the only 80mm fan I've found that won't make you deaf moving 25-40 cfm between 1200 and 1400 rpm. I use it mainly to balance out the total case exhaust for best cooling.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835220023
I also have a Scythe Kama bay fan that takes up the lower 3 5.25" bays. 30.53 cfm and blows over the memory and straight into the CPU cooler.
http://scythe-usa.com/product/acc/008/sckb1000_detail.html
I just feel that two layers of airflow through the case is better than one, and I only need two 5.25" bays to begin with, as I don't want or need more than two burners, and it looks like it came with the case. Color matches perfectly. Even now with the stock front CM fan, it's still very quiet. It will be even quieter still when I replace the front CM with the 40 cfm 800 rpm scythe. The airflow/noise ratio is very hard to beat unless you are looking for a silent PC. Sam goes to the quiet side, but gives up a little to heat. I'm the opposite, where lower temps are my prime concern, and I don't mind a little gentle noise, if you can even call it noise, as it's not an unpleasant sound at all. The rear and lower front are 1200 rpm, the Kama Bay and the side Scythe are 800 rpm, and the side 80mm Silverstone is set at 1200 rpm at the moment, and is more than quiet enough. It's the quietest computer I've ever built, by a wide margin, and the cooling is outstanding!

Good luck with your new build, and may your clocks runneth over!

Best Regards,
Russ

 

The reason why the FM83 pushes so much air for an 80mm fan is because it's actually a 95mm fan with an 80mm frame. Such fans are very useful for a lot of cases, but it's worth pointing out that not all systems can mount fans like that.

 

Sam,
That's true if there is only room for a standard 80mm fan, the body is too wide. For my purposes in this case, it's an excellent choice to replace the Air Duct with, and as an exhaust, I can balance the difference between the input and output airflow. Works quite well! I do believe the blade is 92mm, if I'm not mistaken.

Best Regards,
Russ

 

Yes, 92mm is likely, since that's a standard size. The dimensions are 95mm but that will likely account for the frame edge.

 

Wow russ, from the looks of your posts, you have some serious air flow in your case. I hope you're proud of yourself! LOL! I'm looking at my 2 slipstream fans here. The 1200 and 1900 one. Tomorrow(Today rather), I will experiment with the Tuniqs cooling fan Hopefully, one of these fans is gonna run the way I want it to. Then I can consider how well my intake and exhaust are operating. Something tells me its within reason. But If I wanna push the 4Ghz barrier, I may NEED to upgrade the cooling. For curiosities sake, I may just move the GPU down to the lower slot, and see how it fairs, as well as the CPU. Sounds like I may be playing GTA IV earlier than usual

 

Using the GPU in the lower slot will help CPU temps a bit, assuming your case has side ventilation. However, it will help your chipset temperatures the most. As for airflow, remember my HAF has six 1900rpm slipstreams, an additional pair of 1600rpm normal Scythes (one as a top case fan, one as a CPU fan) and the 230mm and 140mm Coolermaster stock fans for front and rear. For curiosity's sake they've been running full tilt idle at the desktop for the last half hour, but the X2s currently have powerplay disabled, so are at full clock speeds. My CPU is at 30ºC and the PCH at 33ºC (likely due to the heat from the X2s, if they were idling in powerplay, the PCH would be 30C or less). Hard disks are at 31ºC for the Caviar Black and 24ºC (supposedly, I never trust Samsung temp sensors) for the F1. CPU core temps are 24/25/25/27.
Room temperature is around 22-23ºC.

 

Sam,
Sounds like you have it all pretty much together in the cooling department Sam. I imagine it's fairly quiet too. I'm thinking about taking my case cover down to a Machine shop and having them punch a 4.25" hole where the 80mm fan goes now and buying yet another 40 cfm, 800 rpm, 120mm Scythe. I like the quiet! LOL!!

Russ

 

I just pulled the trigger on this case.... I couldn't stand it... for $40 bucks delivered after MIR it's a dang good buy if you ask me.

linky to NZXT BETA EVO

@ Red_Maw.... you might consider a case that has free delivery and is fairly cheap considering the computer is for ya mum... they don't need the crazy cooling or big case most of the time and a dollar or two saved is a buck you can use on another component. Good luck with your build.

add: Red_maw here is a few that I would consider... just trying to help.

link to cases with free shipping at the egg

 

No offense GM, but that's an ugly Squid, and it isn't even tool-less!! LOL!! Of course, I also own an RC 534 myself, and it's the best case I've ever owned! Looks great, and cools well, with plenty of room to work inside! Why on Earth would anyone want a case black on the inside. Black absorbs heat!

Russ

 

Firstly, I think it's every bit as good looking as coolermaster's cases in that price range, but that's personal taste. The RC-532 is reasonably good looking, but the RC-534 is very dull.
Secondly, the Beta Evo is tool-less.
Thirdly, black interiors are good because they absorb heat, not bad. They also look a lot more modern and slick.

 

Sam,
To me, it's funny that you should say that, because virtually everyone who sees it likes my case. It's the first thing they say when they see it! I've even done a few builds with the RC 534 Sophocles complimented me on my choice of case, and he doesn't do that very often. I stand corrected though, I didn't know what the plastic bits were for. I guess looks are a personal taste thing though. I like most of the Nzxt cases, but that one looks like an old 30's Buick, with that grille! Why would you rather absorb heat into the case. Better to have it reflected off of the inside so it can be sucked out by the exhaust fans. I've also never seen a black radiator. Silver, White, Beige, light green yes, but never black! Black holds the heat in, and radiates very little. I also love the solid drive locks on the CM, and I can change any drive in about a minute or pull all of them out in less than 5 with one hand! I don't like bottom mounted PSUs either, unless they have a shield between the works and the PSU. Heat rises, and the video card(s) are right above it! I also don't like the top USB, Firewire and Audio connections. I can't tell you how many Audio jacks I've replaced, and many a flash drive has been broken by someone who didn't see it, or turned quickly and sheared one off, not to mention the dust!

Most of this stuff is subjective, but I like my RC 534, even better than I liked the Cavalier, and you know how much I liked that one! This one has turned out to be the better case all around!

Best Regards,
Russ

 

Oman7,
It flows about 90 cfm through it, with very little noise. Once I scrap that CM fan in the front, and replace it with a 40 cfm, 800 rpm Scythe, it should run even cooler and quieter! This case was designed for superior cooling. Unfortunately, not with the supplied fans though! They are a bit weak! LOL!!

Russ

 

love the interior of that case, but the exterior make me wanna puke

 

To be fair, most people who saw my cheap and tacky Superflower value case said they liked it too. Generally, if it's not a bog standard grey or black box from a typical PC manufacturer, then it gets a thumbs up!
As far as the RC534 goes, I don't think it's a bad case, and I'm sorry if that's the impression I gave. However, it is minimalistic in its looks, and I think there are many better looking cases out there. I'll be brutally honest, I'm not a huge fan of the Beta's looks myself, but I don't mind them. I certainly wouldn't feel ashamed to own one.
As for heat into the case, it's the black body rule (I think, someone correct me if I'm talking out of my backside) - it's a better conductor and emitter of heat, thus, while you may attract more heat away from the fans (potentially, if the fans are anything other than useless this won't be an issue), the entire case becomes a radiator emitting heat from all areas, which should in theory help.
NZXT's drive mounting systems tend to vary from different cases, but none of them have annoyed me per se. The Whisper deliberately doesn't use tool-less drives for anti-vibration reasons which is excellent, but the Lexa/Tempest system is brilliant, better than coolermaster's for ease of use.
I'm no fan of bottom mount PSUs where the fan faces upwards, but with the Evo I think the PSU faces downwards as it does in the Whisper and the HAF932, which is a great idea, as it entirely isolates the PSU from the rest of the system, reducing noise.

 

same, so long as the fan face the normal way, bottom mounted PSUs are fantastic.