New system...advice/feedback

Dooom

Righto, I'm in the process of getting this new system. I decided I'd build it myself because a) It's cheaper and b) I meant to do it last time so I want to do it this time.
I won't be doing any real overclocking, but I want a cooling system that'll do it's job well and will be quiet - that's why the Zalman water cooler's there.

Below are the specs (you'll notice there's both a water cooling thing and a zalman fan, haven't made up my mind yet) so if anyone wants to give me some advice or anything, feel free.


MB ATX S939 ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe, nForce4

CPU AMD ATHLON 64 FX55 2.6 Ghz Box

256MB Leadtek WinFast PX6800GT-TDH PCIe (x2)

17546 DDR PC400 1GB Corsair TWINX1024-3200C2

Zalman ZM-GWB1 Water Cooling VGA block for Reserator 1

Zalman Reserator 1 Fanless Water Cooling System

HDD SATA 300GB Seagate ST3300831AS NCQ

Western Digital Raptor 36.7GB S-ATA 8MB cache 10000RPM

Sony USB Floppy Drive 3,5" 1,44MB Black Floppy Drive, External USB 1.1

LG DVD-Combo Drive 52x32x52x16 GCC-4521SBB Silver OEM

LG DVDRW Dual 16x16x4x40 GSA-4163RBB Silver OEM

Coolermaster Wave Master - Silver (No PSU)

Enermax Noisetaker 600W EG701AX-VE(W) SFMA ATX2.0 SLI Compliant PSU

WizZard

I may be selling the Zalman Reserator soon with the Zalman GPU water block. It's very effective and you can see it working if you want. See my thread on this page.
I also have a Coolermaster RealPower 450w w/ Wattage Viewer (3 wks old)if you're interested.

Back OT:
The sytem looks good. I would personally go with a DFI board but the Asus does get good reviews too. Wjy skimp on the RMA though? Everything else looks really good, butthe RAM is cheap. get OCZ/Geil/Gskill/Corsair (non-value) RAM instead.

If you are not going to overclock, then get the Athlon64 4000+. Roughly the same speed but only down-multi unlocked. You won't need the multi fully unlocked if you are not overclocking. And it's much cheaper (but you seem to have money to burn!)

neokenzo

You'll probably want a better cooling than the Zalman. Zalman is meant to be quiet but I'm not sure how effective it is with the FX-55 as they generates a lot of heat. Try going with a XP-90 with a panaflo fan and controller.

Dooom

I've never really cared much thought for RAM, but I think I'll take your advice on this one.
As for the CPU, it would save me 250 odd Euros, and then it'd give me another reason to not go the water cooling way, which again would save me some more money.
I know the 4000+ is just a re-badged FX-53, but there's something appealing about the FX-55. Just a mental thing I guess, so I'll consider that aswell. There's no difference (bar the .2ghz) between them is there?
Thanks for the heads-up.

Two more things though; with the two 6800GT's in there, that I might overclock to Ultra speeds - what type of cooling will I need?

And aswell, I've heard one or two things about PCI-Ex 2.0 that's going to rear it's head at the end of the year. Any ideas on that?

WizZard

Don't wait for technology, you'll never be ahead of the game!

You should OC the 6800's. Zalman do good graphics cooling now, similar to the CNPS7000. IIRC I've seen a pic with 2 of those on 2 6800's on the Asus mobo, but I don't know where.
Damn it, I've just put you off watercooling??

If the only thing you like about the FX-55 is the name/prestige then stay away from it. The 4000+ is just as good. The only diff's I know about are that 200MHz speed diff and the fact that the FX-55 is made from strained silicon, allowing a better OC with less heat (IIRC).
That system will be loud even with 3 zalman fans in it. Make sure you replace the stock front fans on the wavemaster with adjustable, quieter models. I've done that and it's much quieter. The rear fan could be replaced too but I haven't done this ... yet!
I would advise going for watercooling, even just a GPU loop with the two 6800's. It should cool them very effectively and be ultra quiet. The zalman reserator is good for that. Then get the newer CNPS7700 for the CPU and you'll be laughing with an ultra quiet system and lots of power!!

Dooom

WizZard, if you worked for me - I would've just given you a big raise.

That last paragraph is exactly what I'm going to do. Although I still want the FX-55, I probably will go for the 4000+. And thinking on it now, I'll stick with the watercooling as I'm sick to hell of this noise coming out of mine at the moment.
Thanks a mil.

One last thing though, the most I've done in terms of putting parts in a computer is hard drives, graphics cards etc. but I've never touched the motherboard and cpu. Adding setting up a watercooling system to it makes it sound somewhat intimidating. Is it all more or less straight forward with the in-box manuals and the like?

WizZard

Spike wrote:

WizZard, if you worked for me - I would've just given you a big raise.

Thanks, I'll put you in touch with my boss

It's a bit daunting and does take longer but it shouldn't really be that difficult. The stress of worrying about a leak does get you when you first set-up though!! Especially when the system is question is very expensive!! Still if you need a hand, that's what boards is for (well, nearly!)

<edit>If you've got money to burn then get a WD Raptor hard drive for your system drive. It'll speed up things a lot! And just use the 300gb for storage</edit>

Dooom

Right, RAM. Could somone recommend me a a decent 1GB twin set? I really don't know a whole lot about it.

And I know this's a stupid question...but I just need to make sure. Er...if I have watercooling on the CPU, do I need a fan or heatsink? And does the Zalman watercooling VGA Block replace the fan on the Graphics card (s)?
Also, I've just updated the specs in my first post. Will I need any extra cables or anything like that or will they all be in the various boxes?

WizZard

The 36.7 Raptors are a little bit louder on disk access than the newer 74gb ones, if utter silence is what you're after.

For RAM I would choose the Corsair that you have in your post, if OC'ing really isn't your thing. Otherwise get this. It will allow a nice little OC gauranteed!

You will need at least 2 other 80mm fans to replace those loud ones in the Wavemaster, I went with the Coolermaster X-System fan.

You will need 2 GPU water blocks. (1 per card). These do replace the fans on the graphics cards
The CPU waterblock negates the need for a HSF on the CPU. Get some Arctic Silver 5 for the waterblocks (used for seating them and filling minor scratches so that max surface contact is gained). You may need extra tubing for the Zalman Reserator and a water additive for the water (to stop algae forming in the tubes/waterblocks)

Good PSU!!

Also get a fan-controller, Coolermaster Aerogate is good. and perhaps a cooldrive for the raptor, they can get a little hot (mine don't cause of the fans at the front of the wavemaster)

Dooom

Right I've picked out the Coolermaster Cooldrive 6 and the Aerogate 2 fan controller from here. But from what I've read, they do the same thing - so is it really necessary to get both of them?

Picked out 2 80mm fans aswell. Couldn't find any accessories for the Zalman Reserator though, and the same with the water additive. Any chance of a link (the main places I'm ordering from are Overclockers, Komplett and Comtech)?

Anything else I'll need? They'll need a convoy of vans to get all this stuff to me :cool:

WizZard

Yeah, the cooldrive is an aerogate with the drive backend, one or the other will do

You can get water additive from www.Overclock.co.uk (water wetter). The Zalman tubing is a bitch to get, believe me! www.quietpc.com do some, but it's expensive. I have some spare but I want to wait to see if anyone wants my reserator first, cos I want to give them the option of extending the loop(s). I have both clear and blue tubing with UV reactive dye in the water.

<edit>Waterchill anit-algae fluid here</edit>

Dooom

Ah yeah, thanks.
If I decide to throw in the Raptor, I'll just get the Cooldrive 6.
Think that's all so. Thanks for your help/advice man.

Now all I have to do is get all my money together and I'll be good to go...assuming the water system doesn't leak! :eek:

Just thought of something, if I don't get the Raptor, should I still get the Cooldrive to control the fans etc.?
And one more thing that's fairly important...where do I get the water for the water cooling systems? Unless I can use tap water?

WizZard

Get de-ionised water from a petrol station/Kwik-Fit. It's used for car batteries. Should be cheap enough.

Get the cooldrive anyway, put the 300gb in it if not the raptor. I would def advise the raptor though. And it will control the fans.

Hope it goes well for you.

Dooom

Cool. Just looking at the Zalman website there on the Reserator page, and the picture furthest to the right, where it shows the system hooked up and beside the computer - does that little thing at the back of the pc (just behind the PCI slots) that allow the pipes to enter and exit the pc come with the kit?

WizZard

Yeah, they're two things that fit in a slot at the back of the pc.

youcancallmeal

Spike wrote:

Ah yeah, thanks.
If I decide to throw in the Raptor, I'll just get the Cooldrive 6.
Think that's all so. Thanks for your help/advice man.

I'm planning on getting a raptor meself but i was wondering is the extra cooling really needed for it or is it just an additional bit of convienence?

WizZard

It's just additional bit of convenience, and may quieten down the access sounds (not very loud really, but louder than my seagates (ie. it can be heard))