T.R.U.E. Copper, plus other bits (advice!)

[Phyltre]

As part of my ongoing plan to bankrupt myself and my immediate family, I'm once again revamping my main/gaming rig build. As some of you may know from a previous thread, I got a Rampage Formula awhile back along with a QX6850.

Well, a BIOS flash failed and so I've RMAed the mobo. A mostly-empty case, as it turns out, is very dangerous for me...it makes replacing things easier, which makes me much more likely to do the work. In other words, spend too much money.

So here's the new build, which is supposed to be as powerful and as quiet as possible. I'm swapping out the stock heatsink for a TRUE copper, which I will mount with 2 Noctua NF-P12 fans. I'm getting a GTX260 (newer 216 edition) which I will retrofit with the new HR-03 GTX VGA cooler once it comes out. I'm also replacing the gaudy, mid-range fans in my Antec 900 with Scythe S-FLEX SFF21F fans. (I just don't need a giant blue nightlight in the corner anymore!) And obviously I'm going to move into a better power supply, probably a CMPSU-620HX.

The problem, I guess, is that the TRUE Copper is extremely heavy at 1900 grams (especially with the 2 fans) and the card will be rather large/heavy as well (especially with the aftermarket cooler.) I'm a little worried for my motherboard! Should I move to a horizontal orientation, throw some rubber feet on the side and call it a day? Is there any particular hardware I can install to support things better? I've heard of things like foam backings but I've never seen any.

I think, once this build is complete, it should fulfill my objective of very low noise paired with good speed, horsepower, and overclockability. Assuming the thing doesn't crack in two!

 

[Riccochet]

I wouldn't sweat it. If you're concerned about the weight of the copper TRU use some fishing line to support it to the top of the case. 30-50lb test mono as it won't stretch as easily, or braided preferably. You won't even see it in there if you do it right.

The video card is already supported by screwing it to the case.

 

[tiraides]

Have you bought everything yet? I don't see the need for you to spend that much money on everything.

While the TRUE is arguably the best CPU cooler around, there are other acceptable options available for less. Consider the Xigmatek HDT-S1283 (with the ACK-I7751 retention bracket), which performs about as well as the TRUE but is often found for less. (It also comes with one replaceable case fan.)

If you insist on sticking with the TRUE, to aid you in stability, pick up the Thermalright LGA775 Bolt-Thru Kit as well.

As for case fans, go with something much cheaper. Get the medium-speed Yate Loon D12SM-12 fans from Petra's Tech Shop. Though the sleeve-bearing Yate Loons won't last as long as the S-FLEX fans (their MTBF is at 30,000 hours compared to the S-FLEX's 150,000 hours), their low price ($4-$6 per fan versus $15-$20 for each S-FLEX fan) won't cause you to flinch as much.

 

[engiNURD]

ROFL... bankruptcy... huge case... LOL.

I can see you like spending money, so I won't try to persuade you towards tiraides suggestions, despite me completely agreeing with them. I tried that with my friend, and he still doesn't listen to me, lol. But thats fine because he knows what he wants, he knows what he's getting for his money, and he can afford to pay twice the amount for 15% performance increase. So, I'm guessing you're the same way.

If you mount it to the board, I agree with HydroBudz... use fishing line to support it. That friend of mine also picked up that behemoth, and he's going the other route: as you mentioned, going with a horizontal mounting case. He had one of those huge cubes anyhow, so he just needs to find one flipped over, lol.

The other suggestion I had to him was mod the mount to the case, like the Xeon server mounts. But he's too busy to do such a mod.

What I don't get is, with all that nice hardware, you're using an Antec 900?!?!?

 

[Phyltre]

It's not really that I enjoy spending money. (Although I can't blame you for thinking so!) I used to be a very bang-for-the-buck person. But whenever I settle for less, I always regret it. I believe in investing in things rather than getting disposables. I just enjoy researching too much, too. I learn all about a product or class of product and don't want to compromise.

Plus I realized that I only make these kinds of purchases once every few years. If six months down the road I realize I needed a more stable motherboard, or another 15 watts per channel from my receiver, or that extra bass response from my Grados, or a slightly larger screen, or that thicker memory bandwidth from my video card--then I'm unhappy and I've wasted a fair bit of money. I can't retroactively upgrade. Many times I've looked back and thought "gee, if I had only spent the extra $50-100 dollars initially for the next higher model, I'd be much happier right now and wouldn't be spending more money." More expensive certainly doesn't equal better, I understand that. At the end of the day, though, I realize I'm in a very small window in my life. I'm working a moderately well-paying job, and I don't have any major responsibilities. No house payments, no car payments, no children. I won't have this much freedom with my own money for a long time, maybe ever again in my adult life. If I don't have fun with little extravagances now, when will I?

Okay, musings aside--I've already got the motherboard, the cooler, the processor, and the two Noctua fans. I THINK I have the bolt-thru kit as well, it's what the site lists as coming with it and there's definitely a backplate here. I'll take a very hard look at the case fan suggestion, tiraides. As for why I'm in the 900, enginurd? It's a holdover from my first ground-up custom build from awhile back. I'm going to move into a full-tower case eventually. I know I can browse Newegg for this (and I already have, some) but did you have any specific recommendations? Maybe even for one that would be easily adaptable to a horizontal configuration?