Critique my build (mid-priced system).

P

philg

n00b
Joined
May 21, 2007
Messages
44
Hi,

I'm looking to build a new system with the following components:

Antec p182 or Cooler Master 590 case
e7200 chip
Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R or ASUS P5Q-E mbrd
Cooler Master TX CPU cooler
Asus Radeon EAH4850 card.
Asus Blu-Ray optical drive
Corsair VX550 PSU
4GB Mushkin 1066 RAM
Seagate Barracuda 640gb HD
(my monitor is 1900x1200 DHCP compliant)

I'd like:
Crossfire capability
Solid drivers and good quality.
I'm not really an over clocker.
Cool and quiet-running
Good Blu-Ray DVD performance.
Good sound.

What do you think? Your opinions are appreciated.
 
If you're not an overclocker, then you don't need DDR2 1066 RAM. Get a DDR2 800 kit from either A-DATA or G.Skill.

Get the Xigmatek HDT-S963 instead of the Cooler Master Hyper TX2. Additionally, get the retention bracket, which makes mounting the HDT-S963 much easier.

VisionTek is the only ATI-based manufacturer that offers lifetime warranties on its cards. You may want to consider them instead. (For a 1920x1200 resolution, though, consider the HD4870 instead -- if you consider yourself a gamer.)

Purchase the Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R and the Corsair VX550 at ZipZoomFly, which has them for less. Get the RC-590 or the P182 at Buy.com, which offers free shipping on both cases. (My choices for the case and motherboard would be the GA-EP45-DS3R and the P182. However, that's a matter of personal taste.)

If you need some additional/better case fans, pick up some Yate Loon low speed or medium speed fans.

Onboard sound has improved to the point that it's good enough for most users. Try it out first, and then consider a sound card if you're otherwise dissatisfied.
 
Tomshardware is doing a CPU cooler compare and they come up with 3 good ones. The Cooler Master Hyper TX2, the Zalman vx9700, and the Xigmatek HDT S1283.

Which of these is easiest to install and will direct the airflow (preferably) up out of the case or backward out of the case?
 
The Xigmatek HDT-S1283 with the retention bracket would be best. The screws that are used with the retention bracket make it much easier to assemble than using push-pins.
 
philg said:
Tomshardware is doing a CPU cooler compare and they come up with 3 good ones. The Cooler Master Hyper TX2, the Zalman vx9700, and the Xigmatek HDT S1283.
Click to expand...

Could you please link to this "comparison"? AFAIK, there is no Zalman VX9700.

As for which HSF is easier to install, neither if you're using the stock push-pins on both HSF (TX2 and HDTS1283). However if you get the Xigmatek Retention bracket that Tiraides recommended, the Xigmatek HSF is significantly easier to install.
 
Ah sorry, I had the model number wrong. Putting this system together on paper has my head swimming with model numbers. It was the CNPS9700.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cpu-cooler-charts,1967.html

Do the push-pins on the other coolers fit pre-existent holes in the motherboard? Is the retention bracket itself easy to put in?

I haven't built a machine since my Celeron 300A socket 370 with a DFI board and a Geforce card. I built many XT and 286, 386 AT machines in 1988 and 1989 before that! Would you like 640Kb or 1MB of RAM? 20/30mb Seagate or the better 40mb Mitsubishi? Monochrome or 16-colour VGA? :D
 
Ahh an old timer :)

Anyway yes the push-pins fit pre-existent holes in the motherboard. And yes the retention brack itself is easy to put in. A lot easier than the push-pins IMO. So defintely get the Xigmatek. It's a better choice than either HSF in terms of cooling and ease of installation.
 
Thanks all - the Xigmatek HDT-S1283 with retention bracket it shall be.

I'm going for the Cooler Master 590 case too - the p182 doesn't seem to have enough air flow.

Now to decide on the MOBO. If the Gigabyte does 2x16 Cross-fire I guess it wins over the ASUS P5Q-E, which I hear only does 2x8.
 
philg said:
Thanks all - the Xigmatek HDT-S1283 with retention bracket it shall be.

I'm going for the Cooler Master 590 case too - the p182 doesn't seem to have enough air flow.

Now to decide on the MOBO. If the Gigabyte does 2x16 Cross-fire I guess it wins over the ASUS P5Q-E, which I hear only does 2x8.
Click to expand...

The P182 can provide plenty of airflow for your needs. It has two separate HDD cages, and if you place your hard drives in the bottom cage, you could place a fan (with a little bit of modding) in the second cage so it could directly cool the graphics card area.

Most cards on their own don't fully utilize the bandwidth provided by PCI-E 1.1 x16, which is equivalent to a PCI-E 2.0 x8 lane. Granted, you do get better performance from dual x16 CrossFire, but if CrossFire isn't your primary goal -- as in, you won't be using CrossFire right away -- you could stick with the P5Q-E.
 
I went to Canada Computers and picked up my parts today:

Cooler Master 590 Case
Cooler Master Hyper TX2 CPU cooler
e8400 CPU
ASUS P5Q-E motherboard
ASUS EAH HD4850 graphics
Corsair XMS2 2x2GB DDR PC800 RAM (they didn't have the Mushkin redline RAM)
Corsair TX650w 650 watt PSU
Seagate Barracuda 500GB 32mb cache
Samsung SH-S203 DVD+-R/CD-R/RW etc.

$980 without taxes or O/S all up.

What do you think?
 
Nope but I toyed with getting a Scythe flexy 35cfm or somesuch. Are those good fans?
 
You mean the S-FLEX? They're very good fans, but they're also very expensive. I recommend some cheaper case fans like the Yate Loons or the Scythe "Slipstream" fans
 
OK - will look into the other fans and thanks.

I traded the Samsung DRW-2014L1T DVD writer back in for an SATA ASUS one as it was rated quieter and more accurate, though not as fast. It came with Nero 8 instead of Nero 7. Plus now the curtains match the drapes. ;) Total price now up to about $993 pre-tax/OS.
 
I know this doesn't matter, but in case anyone else was reading...the P45-DS3R and P5Q-E use the same chipset, so they both support dual 8x PCI-E2.0 Crossfire. ;)

Post some pics when you get it built! :)
 
_MG_1804smshp.jpg


Got it running Vista and am posting from it now. Nice clean build with the CM 590 case.
 
Niiice... :) Thanks for the pic! You might want to flip the PSU, but its up to you.
 
enginurd said:
Niiice... :) Thanks for the pic! You might want to flip the PSU, but its up to you.
Click to expand...

The 590 case has ports on bottom to allow the PSU to take in cool air from outside the case. If I flip it, it will rob cool air from the case and the video card.
 
or you'd be exhausting some of the hot air from the vidcard... but heat mostly rises, lol.
 
enginurd said:
or you'd be exhausting some of the hot air from the vidcard... but heat mostly rises, lol.
Click to expand...

It's more that the fans from the vid card and the PSU would be facing each other. Not bad as-is but would be a problem when crossfire is installed.
 
But they'd be staggered. The fan from the vidcard is further towards the middle of the case, and the fan of the PSU is at the edge of the case... where the vidcards hot air goes (not exhausted). So the cool air from the front of the case would go to the vidcard first, and the air from the heatsink of the vidcard would feed the psu's fan. If it were a dual slot card, then my argument is even more pointless, but its a single slot card, so the hot air isn't immediately exhausted. I know, I'm nitpicking... I'll shutup now, lol. :eek:
 
enginurd said:
But they'd be staggered. The fan from the vidcard is further towards the middle of the case, and the fan of the PSU is at the edge of the case... where the vidcards hot air goes (not exhausted). So the cool air from the front of the case would go to the vidcard first, and the air from the heatsink of the vidcard would feed the psu's fan. If it were a dual slot card, then my argument is even more pointless, but its a single slot card, so the hot air isn't immediately exhausted. I know, I'm nitpicking... I'll shutup now, lol. :eek:
Click to expand...

I think we think the same way - it doesn't matter with the present config but would become a problem in crossfire.

I still like the principle of having the PSUs airflow independent of the case flow. Less variables to control. I may add two quiet fans to the case - one over the video card and one at the top.
 
If you could find a quiet pci slot fan, I'd put one next to the vidcard, below it, to exhaust the hot air of the vidcard faster. But yes, definitely add at least one fan to the top.
 
enginurd said:
If you could find a quiet pci slot fan, I'd put one next to the vidcard, below it, to exhaust the hot air of the vidcard faster. But yes, definitely add at least one fan to the top.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Do you mean a PCI fan to feed the fan on the video card? The Radeon exhausts heat at the 'claws' of the cooling case so the face would have to be butt up against the side of the case.
 
How do I get the stupid AsIo.dll to load properly on boot and keep this farking dumb-arse ghosty Asus 'Splendid' icon from flashing in the in upper right corner. I get the error "Can not load AsIo.dll" and 'EAccessViolation' when the Six Engine fails to load.

I really hate it when people write obtrusive crap that doesn't work for hardware drivers.

'Splendid' indeed...

I removed GamerOSD: now the silly flashing 'Splendid' logo is gone and I don't get the AsIo.dll or EAccessViolation. Maybe that's why my sound didn't work half the time. But now I get another silly error about Asus Smartdoctor needing GamerOSD for some ungodly reason. So I am going to uninstall Smartdoctor too!

Is there any other software that will measure videocard temperature? I'm getting pissed off with the Asus software.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top