Is This Going Overboard?

Motherboard: MSI K9A2 Platinum with the AMD 790X CrossFire Chipset
CPU: AMD Phenom X4 9950
PSU: 1xxx (Either 1300 or 1500 watt)
RAM: 2 x 2GB DDRII (Plan to get more if it is really needed.)

VC: 2 x ATI 4870 X2 (with GDDR5!)
SC: Haven't Decided (Maybe someone could give me a suggestion)

CPU Fan: CoolerMaster Hyper TX2 [Why did I think it came separate from the heatsink? Man, I'm so freakin' tired.]

HDD: 1TB with 32MB Cache | Partitioned into 4-portions (I'm not sure if one large drive is a good idea, in fact, it sounds like a bad idea)

OS: (Quad Boot) Windows XP Professional 32-bit | Windows XP Professional x64 (64-bit) | Windows Vista Ultimate x64 (64-bit) | Ubuntu 8.04

Case: Full Freakin' Tower by NZXT

CD Thing: All in one CD/DVD +- R/RW by Sony
Floppy (1.4MB) - 1 of them! Twisty Cable!
USB: 4 x internal USB 2.0

Motherboard in very little detail -
1-CPU Socket
Max 8GB RAM
4 x PCI-e X16 with (of course) CrossFire Support
4 x DIMM (4 x DDR RAM - I fixed my tired selves message)

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This is the computer I'm going to be building, I just wanted to see if anyone thinks this is going overboard. If you're asking whether or not I understand what I wrote, the answer is, "Yes." I completely understand, I've been learning this stuff for a while, and am now in a class for 3-hours a day learning to take-a-part, fix, and build computers. Plus, as an added bonus, learning the OS. Like learning how to install DOS the other day, that was fun.

Anyways, I also wanted to know if anyone has any particular suggestions for a gaming sound card. Price doesn't matter!

\\ I may respond a little late, sorry if I do //



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I just read what I wrote and, "wow." Damn, I was tired.

You must have been incredibly tired - 9950 is the Phenom's model number, not it's speed. The Phenom 9950 runs at 2.6ghz.

Change the fan. It only shifts about 40CFM (cubic feet per minutes - the volume of air it will move), and is a 90mm fan. A good fan will shift over 100CFM. Assuming the case is wide enough to take one, get a heatsink that has a 120mm fan and replace it with a Panaflo. The heatsink you choose is all down to preference, but the bigger the fan and the bigger the volume of air it shifts makes for a cooler CPU (one of the reasons to go for a 120mm over a 90mm is that the bigger fan rotates slower and quieter, yet still shifts more air. It follows that a 140mm fan on a heatsink is better than a 120mm, and so on). Obviously, if you get a heatsink and replace the fan, you'll need to make sure you put it in the right way - no point having a heatsink with a horizontal fan on top which is blowing air down at the CPU, or a vertical heatsink with air being blown towards the front of the case.

Which is going to be your main OS? I imagine it'll be Vista 64-bit, in which case, why do you need two versions of XP? Unless you use XP a lot, then you might as well go for the 32-bit version. What does it matter if you only get 3.12gb of your 4gb of RAM if you only use XP once a month? The same applies if your main OS is XP - with 4gb of RAM, go for XP 64-bit and forget about XP 32-bit. I really don't see the need for two versions of XP.

Personal preference also comes into play with DVD drives, but I'd advise getting a SATA one, simply because then you don't have to piss about with IDE cables, instead you've got a single, thin, flexible cable going to the drive which is a dream to plug in.

Floppy drive... how often do you actually use a floppy drive? Daily? Weekly? Monthly? If it's anything less than monthly, then ignore it and get an external USB Floppy drive... or just use USB pens. Every BIOS these days comes with the option to boot from "Other Device" - USB pen. If you're getting a floppy drive simply to allow you to use boot floppies, then, well, in my mind it's a watse of money.

I don't know where you got your Mobo details from, but it's only got four DIMM slots, not eight: http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Ha...k9a2_platinum/

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If you want a mobo that allows multiple CPUs, then think about the Intel Xeon line - the higher specs ones can take two Core 2 Quad Extremes, and up to 32gb of DDR2 RAM.

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And no, it's not overboard. I'm a great believer of spending money in incredible amounts when you're young. If you've got a few thousand to spare, then don't let it gather virtual dust in a bank account, spend it - you don't need to worry about tax, or bills when you're young, so spend when you can. I'm coming to the end of my care-free, tax-free and bill-free youth, and I'm starting to regret not spending things when I could. Yes, I've learnt how to save and how to be incredibly tight with my money, but it's only over the past couple of years that I've experienced the joy of expensive tech.

Save and invest while you're young. Look up "time valuation of money" and apply that to your investments. The historical return on the U.S. market, that I hear thrown around, is 10% annually. Apply that for say, 40 years years, and you'll see why it's good to start early.

You must have been incredibly tired - 9950 is the Phenom's model number, not it's speed. The Phenom 9950 runs at 2.6ghz.

I know that now. I wasn't exactly "awake," when I was writing this.

Change the fan. It only shifts about 40CFM (cubic feet per minutes - the volume of air it will move), and is a 90mm fan. A good fan will shift over 100CFM. Assuming the case is wide enough to take one, get a heatsink that has a 120mm fan and replace it with a Panaflo. The heatsink you choose is all down to preference, but the bigger the fan and the bigger the volume of air it shifts makes for a cooler CPU (one of the reasons to go for a 120mm over a 90mm is that the bigger fan rotates slower and quieter, yet still shifts more air. It follows that a 140mm fan on a heatsink is better than a 120mm, and so on). Obviously, if you get a heatsink and replace the fan, you'll need to make sure you put it in the right way - no point having a heatsink with a horizontal fan on top which is blowing air down at the CPU, or a vertical heatsink with air being blown towards the front of the case.

Alright, I'll look around.

Which is going to be your main OS? I imagine it'll be Vista 64-bit, in which case, why do you need two versions of XP? Unless you use XP a lot, then you might as well go for the 32-bit version. What does it matter if you only get 3.12gb of your 4gb of RAM if you only use XP once a month? The same applies if your main OS is XP - with 4gb of RAM, go for XP 64-bit and forget about XP 32-bit. I really don't see the need for two versions of XP.

Windows XP is my main. I am going to have both 32-bit and 64-bit in case I run into programs (games really) that won't run in the 64-bit version. I have Vista for Direct X 10 games. Also, the max ram for a 32-bit is 3.4GB, not 3.12.

Personal preference also comes into play with DVD drives, but I'd advise getting a SATA one, simply because then you don't have to piss about with IDE cables, instead you've got a single, thin, flexible cable going to the drive which is a dream to plug in.

Believe me, I'm getting a SATA one.

Floppy drive... how often do you actually use a floppy drive? Daily? Weekly? Monthly? If it's anything less than monthly, then ignore it and get an external USB Floppy drive... or just use USB pens. Every BIOS these days comes with the option to boot from "Other Device" - USB pen. If you're getting a floppy drive simply to allow you to use boot floppies, then, well, in my mind it's a watse of money.

I have to transfer files from a computer that only has USB1.0 ports. So, my only method was to use Floppy.

I don't know where you got your Mobo details from, but it's only got four DIMM slots, not eight: http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Ha...k9a2_platinum/

Ha, man, I was freakin' tired. In my head ran the word DIMM instead of SIMM. For a SIMM it would have been 8.

If you want a mobo that allows multiple CPUs, then think about the Intel Xeon line - the higher specs ones can take two Core 2 Quad Extremes, and up to 32gb of DDR2 RAM.

Good advice, I'm gonna look into that.

And no, it's not overboard. I'm a great believer of spending money in incredible amounts when you're young. If you've got a few thousand to spare, then don't let it gather virtual dust in a bank account, spend it - you don't need to worry about tax, or bills when you're young, so spend when you can. I'm coming to the end of my care-free, tax-free and bill-free youth, and I'm starting to regret not spending things when I could. Yes, I've learnt how to save and how to be incredibly tight with my money, but it's only over the past couple of years that I've experienced the joy of expensive tech.

Yay! That's what I wanted to hear the most. Still, I haven't found a sound card. Maybe I'll just find a cheap one. Not like I have 5.1 surround sound speakers. I have good ole' stereo speakers.

Save and invest while you're young. Look up "time valuation of money" and apply that to your investments. The historical return on the U.S. market, that I hear thrown around, is 10% annually. Apply that for say, 40 years years, and you'll see why it's good to start early.

everyone seems to think this is a good idea, also everyone who preaches this has never done it... thus why should we?

I have to transfer files from a computer that only has USB1.0 ports. So, my only method was to use Floppy.

Why not just take the hard drive out of the old PC and plug it into the new one, transfer your files across, then put the hard drive back in the old PC.

Either that or stick with USB - it'll still be faster than hundreds of trips with a floppy disc.

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How much are you thinking of spending on this PC? If it was $300, then I could understand not spending an extra, say, $50 on a decent set of 5.1 speakers, but if it's $2500, then what difference is $50?

At that price as well, it might be worth spending a bit more and going for a motherboard that supports DDR3 RAM. If it is crazy speed you're looking for, then Xeon may still be the way to go, though (2x Core 2 Quad processors each at 3.2ghz is nothing to be sniffed at, nor is it if coupled with 32gb of RAM, assuming you can find 8gb modules)

Out of interest, which make of RAM are you thinking of?

And what are you thinking about in terms of general cooling?

Why not just take the hard drive out of the old PC and plug it into the new one, transfer your files across, then put the hard drive back in the old PC. Either that or stick with USB - it'll still be faster than hundreds of trips with a floppy disc.

Wow, I could do that. Dang, my head has been completely out of it. Shoot, I'm gonna do that. Of couse, setting up the other HDD as a slave. About the USB, I don't have any USB 1.0 sticks. They don't work with USB 2.0 Mini Drives.

Win 9x support FAT32 don't they? I could just use my external drive. Then again, it's a USB 2.0 cable. I'll just stick to the idea of moving the hard drive.

How much are you thinking of spending on this PC? If it was $300, then I could understand not spending an extra, say, $50 on a decent set of 5.1 speakers, but if it's $2500, then what difference is $50?

This PCs final price is around $2,800.

At that price as well, it might be worth spending a bit more and going for a motherboard that supports DDR3 RAM. If it is crazy speed you're looking for, then Xeon may still be the way to go, though (2x Core 2 Quad processors each at 3.2ghz is nothing to be sniffed at, nor is it if coupled with 32gb of RAM, assuming you can find 8gb modules)

I really like the MSI motherboards is all. I haven't seen any MSI motherboards that support DDR3. I like ASUS and MSI, if you find one by ASUS, I'll be interested.

Out of interest, which make of RAM are you thinking of?

Huh? Do you mean the company? I'm a little confused by your question.

And what are you thinking about in terms of general cooling?

I'm putting three strong back fans, 4 left-side and 4 right-side fans. All-in-all, 11-fans plus the CPU fan is 12-fans. I hope to keep the system around 30C at the max. I, at one point, wanted to use liquid cooling. However, the idea of water being right next to an object that doesn't agree with water, just doesn't make sense. I've also never setup liquid cooling, so it sounds a little dangerous.

I really like the MSI motherboards is all. I haven't seen any MSI motherboards that support DDR3. I like ASUS and MSI, if you find one by ASUS, I'll be interested.

I can find MSI and Asus motherboards for Intel processors, but not AMD.

Huh? Do you mean the company? I'm a little confused by your question.

Yeah. Corsair, Kingston, Hyundai, Samsung, etc.

I'm putting three strong back fans, 4 left-side and 4 right-side fans. All-in-all, 11-fans plus the CPU fan is 12-fans. I hope to keep the system around 30C at the max. I, at one point, wanted to use liquid cooling. However, the idea of water being right next to an object that doesn't agree with water, just doesn't make sense. I've also never setup liquid cooling, so it sounds a little dangerous.

Now that might be a little bit of overkill.

Have you got a picture/the specs of your case?

If you've got good fans, then you don't need very many. My case (CoolerMaster 830 Stacker), for example, can take up to nine fans, but I've only got seven in - one exhaust on the back, one exhaust on the top, two intake at the front, one intake on the side above the RAM, and two exhausts above the graphics card on the side:


Exhaust
Intake
Heatsink

I've gone for the "negative pressure" approach - more fans blowing out makes the pressure in the case negative. More air is exiting the case then entering it. You have more exit fans than intake.

There's also the positive approach in which more air is entering the case than leaving it - more intake fans than exit.

Some people swear by negative, and others by positive. A top exhaust is a good idea as hot air rises, and a back exhaust is a great way to get air flowing through the case. An exhaust over the graphics card exhausts ain't too shabby, either. A lot of the time you just need to experiment until you find the best configuration.

I think that four fans on the right side of the case is a waste, though - any heat given off by the back of the motherboard will be negligible, and if you do find there's a problem then one fan should sort it. If you go for a tall heatsink for the CPU you may find that you need to give up on one of the left-side fans, and I wouldn't be surprised if you find that you don't have the space to accommodate three exhaust fans at the back.

A top exhaust is a must, and at least one intake at the front to blow air over the hard drive(s) ain't a bad idea. Depending on the front of the case (if it has air vents), you might be able to fit in two fans.

It's hard to think about cooling without seeing the case, though.

Oh, have you thought about thermal paste?

I can find MSI and Asus motherboards for Intel processors, but not AMD.

Aw man, I don't want to get an Intel because they're too expensive.

Yeah. Corsair, Kingston, Hyundai, Samsung, etc.

Corsair.

Now that might be a little bit of overkill. Have you got a picture/the specs of your case?

http://www.nzxt.com/products/zero/

If you've got good fans, then you don't need very many. My case (CoolerMaster 830 Stacker), for...

Nice Model you have there. Um, I've never really thought about which way is better, in or out. I do plan to get a better heatsink and fan because of your previous post.

Oh, have you thought about thermal paste?

I was never taught anything about thermal paste. I think some research is in order.

http://www.nzxt.com/products/zero/ Nice Model you have there. Um, I've never really thought about which way is better, in or out. I do plan to get a better heatsink and fan because of your previous post.

Nice case. I've got a friend who has an NZXT - prettiest little number I've seen. That one's even prettier... though, as one does, I prefer my case.

You might be able to get away with not having to buy any fans - the case comes with all seven already. The two rear exhausts, the top exhaust and front intake are what I'd advise, so those don't need changing, but you'll have to play around with the side four. If you go for a horizontal heat sink, then you should be able to fit all four in, but with a vertical heatsink you might not (if you do get a vertical heatsink, look for something below about 12cm high - my case is 25cm wide, and the heastsink sticks up 15.5cm from the motherboard with at most a couple of millimetres separating it from the wall of fans. The wall of fans are in the case though, rather than on the side panel, so you might have a bit more clearance).

With a horizontal heatsink, you'd want to suck air up through the heatsink, so the fan on that must blow up, and the side fan above that must be an exhaust. The side fan next to that (top right), above the RAM, would work well as an intake. The two above the graphics cards are the interesting ones - (1) if the graphics card fan sucks air in, then set the fan above it to an intake, and the one next to it (towards the back of the case as an exhaust). (2) If it blows air out, then swap it around:

[O][I] (1)
[O][I]

[O][I] (2)
[I][O]

Play around and see what works best. If things are still hot regardless of your configuration, then see if you can stick a 120mm fan in three spare drive bays and keep the door open, or buy some better fans.

As for thermal paste, you can choose from a number of types and makes. I use Arctic Silver V, simply because that's the one people recommended. It has tiny particles of silver in it which help conduct the heat from the CPU to the heatsink. Some people say that because of the silver it is abrasive and can wear out the heat spreader on top of the CPU (which begs the question - how on earth can it do that if the paste doesn't move as in, say, a normal computer?). As a result, these people use a ceramic based paste which does the job, but doesn't conduct heat as well as Silver V. Then there's MX-2 from Arctic Cooling, which is considered one of the best.

As with most things, personal preference comes into it.

one of you two should create a DIY computer build for the forum, if i had two brains i would, based on cost, getting what you want, and time spent. is building your own > buying one?