Help finalise my $8000 WC build !

[stevecs]

Nice build list, I would second the opinion on the PC Power&cooling 1KW supply over the enermax having owned both the PC power&cooling one seems to put out more currant at higher efficiency (lower psu temps). And would second the opinion to replace the 500GB WD drive w/ a 750GB Seagate.

If you have any left-over money the HP LP3065 30" LCD monitor is sweet (best purchase I made in the past 6 months. )

[phcjpp]

I am taking a slightly different route on the monitor front. My work have been kind enough to provide me with 3 (just got the 3rd) 19" NEC Multisync LCD1980FXi monitors at home.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=139981

Gonna get one of these

http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/gx...gital/home.php

and run the GTX's in SLI to power them. Well thats my plan anyway. I hope I can run them at 3840 x 1024 res in SLI.

So now I need a UK supplier for that power supply! (If they exist) failing that its the galaxy.

Ta
Chris

[Shift]

If you were to replace your PSU, get a Silverstone ST85ZF. Much better and alot cheaper.

[Cupcake]

Now do you really want watercooled ram

Are you planning on running a seperate 1/4" loop

if not Id say scrap it and get some of that team ram with the big heatsinks and the D9GKX ic's

[phcjpp]

On the topic of ram, will wc it off the first or second loop using the swiftech f-type ram splitters here

http://www.jab-tech.com/Swiftech-F-F...2-pr-3600.html



picture in use here (near the bottom of the first page)

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...=137865&page=1

Think those will work ok

Chris

[phcjpp]

Pumps:

Is the IWAKI MD 30 R any good ?

Ignore this - just found the thread about the ammount of heat it dumps in the water - shame as they are on ebay for 80$


Ta
Chris

[MaxxxRacer]

this is totaly off topic but dont get that samsung burner.. I just purchased one for my GF's build and it sucks nuts.

HEre is why
1. takes forever to recognize media
2. slower than molasis in antartica when reading media (that includes retail disks)

as far as burning goes its just fine. but for reading anything its horrid.

I would suggest the Lite on drive that is so popular on CD-Freaks.

[SiGfever]

this is totaly off topic but dont get that samsung burner.. I just purchased one for my GF's build and it sucks nuts.

HEre is why
1. takes forever to recognize media
2. slower than molasis in antartica when reading media (that includes retail disks)

as far as burning goes its just fine. but for reading anything its horrid.

I would suggest the Lite on drive that is so popular on CD-Freaks.

My LG burner has been real good so far.

GSA-H10N

[2k7zero]

That is going to be an amazing system. I like Enermax as a psu company, but since you are going to spend that much on a system like that you might as well get the Turbo-Cool 1kw from PC P& Cooling like Iany recommended if possible.

http://www.pcpower.com/products/view...WSR&view=about

[Okda]

NEC imho is the best bang for buck in dvd burners

[2k7zero]

From looking at this ordering page at the official PC P & Cooling website, I think it's possible to get one to the UK. At the bottom of the page it has an option for international shipping, check it out.

https://secure2.pcpowercooling.com/c...corderform.cgi

[MaxxxRacer]

NEC imho is the best bang for buck in dvd burners

they discontinued their best models (cant remember the model number atm) and now their current top end drives arent so great. If they hadnt discontinued them, I would have gotten the NEC.

[IanY]

Its wildly overpriced, but if you want quality and are spending that much anyway, you should look to no less than Plextor for opticals. Be advised that they cost up to four times as much as any other brand. I swear by them.

Another way to waste money is to upgrade that sound card to a 116 db s/n Elite Pro. Its really better than all other X-Fis (which are all 109 db models). That's another $250 of unnecessary expenditure, but the sound output is so incredibly clean and distortion free (even over the other X-Fi models.. and the only one I don't have is a Platinum)

When you remove the Striker's heatpipes, make sure you have something under you to support the heatpipes as you pinch the tabs one by one. The heatpipes are a bit heavy and can put stress on the mobo. Every tab has to be loosened before the heatpipe finally falls off completely. Make sure your mobo doesn't bend. Its a great mobo, but don't rush into the o/c right away. Play with the bios settings one at a time till you find your optimal settings. A single setting can cause your overclock to go haywire.

On the Apogee GTX, make sure you find yourself a good backplate. It makes the bowing all the much better and you will attain a higher overclock and the mounting will be safe. I initially used the ThermalRight, which was OK, till I was given a hint to try the Scythe. The Scythe backplate is fantastic. When you tighten down the GTX, make sure its criss cross and really progressive because if you muck it up, the contact will not be optimal.

Orientation on the GTX shouldn't matter, especially on a Kentsfield, but I'm partial to the inlet being above the outlet. Since you are using a Horizon case, the mobo tray is horizontal to the ground anyway, so it really doesn't matter. If you really want to use stainless steel worm clamps (and I suggest that you do not) be careful about how tight you have them, even on metal barbs. Watch the crimping of the tubes.

Best of luck on your overclock. I'm rooting for you to achieve 4.0 Ghz. I haven't managed to get to 4 Ghz. I'm at 3.8 Ghz and 1.45v (1.5v in bios because of the infamous 680i voltage drop off) and the system serves me well.

I'm a dangerous guy. If you want someone to spend your money, ask me

[phcjpp]

Ian - great advice. On the soundcard I have been reading some interesting articles that suggest vista kinda makes sound card hardware irrelevant. Sounds odd to me though. In the past I have had RME digi 96 cards which was fantastic. Had it into Meridian surround amp / speakers. Just amazing.

Thankfully on the optical drive its an easy thing to rip out and replace. At 20$ a pop you can try a few!

The bit I seem to know least about is the pump it seems. I thought I had that decision made but now it seems people are running much more powerful pumps or pumps in series. More research required clearly.

Thanks again everyone for the input ! Can't remember ifI said but I have asked MM to change the back panel to fit the 120.2. Seems crazy not to.



C

[ranker]

Ian - great advice. On the soundcard I have been reading some interesting articles that suggest vista kinda makes sound card hardware irrelevant. Sounds odd to me though. In the past I have had RME digi 96 cards which was fantastic. Had it into Meridian surround amp / speakers. Just amazing.

Thankfully on the optical drive its an easy thing to rip out and replace. At 20$ a pop you can try a few!

The bit I seem to know least about is the pump it seems. I thought I had that decision made but now it seems people are running much more powerful pumps or pumps in series. More research required clearly.

Thanks again everyone for the input ! Can't remember ifI said but I have asked MM to change the back panel to fit the 120.2. Seems crazy not to.



C

Vista doesn't make sound cards irrelevant. Dedicated sound cards will be better than onboard sound. Vista just requires sound card makers to rewrite their drivers in order to interact with the new way the stacks are called. Just like how Nvidia's drivers are absolute crap right now, once drivers are rewritten things should be even better. If you notice with Vista, you can set the sound level of all the applications different from each other.


In any case, Plextor is the best but they no longer make drives (at least not here over in the states). Their 760A was probably the best drive I've ever owned. I also own a Samsung. It writes better than most drives, but it's absolutely right that their reading capabilities AND ripping capabilities blow. The Lite-On drive seems mediocre to me so I'm anxious to hear why someone mentioned that CD-Freaks were raving about it. The Asus drive is fantastic for the past week I've been using it. I've gone through so many dvd writers trying to find one to replace my old sata plextor 716A but I still haven't found one I like as much as it. However, I need a SATA drive that has lightscribe so I'm still forced to upgrade.

[BigRollTide1]

The Scythe backplate is fantastic. When you tighten down the GTX, make sure its criss cross and really progressive because if you muck it up, the contact will not be optimal.

Where do I get a Scythe backplate? Do they sell it by itself?

[Tuppen^^]

Isn't this a little overkill..? What will this pc be used for?
Anyway it's a great setup, but wait for the Intel price-drop and maybye change the QX6700 for a QX6800

[IanY]

http://www.scythe-usa.com/product/ac...k1_detail.html

Its a bit overkill to have to buy the whole kittle-kabottle, but look at how beefy the backplate is. I'm not sure you can buy the 775 model by itself.

[serialk11r]

From what epion told me, the MD30 is monstrously huge, you want the RD30 because it is much more compact, and voltage adjustable (for power consumption, noise, etc. you can tweak it).
Now since you have all that cool stuff, why not do 3 loops hehe? One loop for CPU, one loop for graphics, one loop for miscellaneous stuff?
Oh and btw, if you want to use wyes, do it on the rads. Use the wye to split the flow to 2 rads, then join the outputs together.

[nattoNrice]

for the love of god dont put an ac aquatube in that loop! the appogee gtx with the annodised al top is bad enough! if u do go thru with it and get it then pls get some uber corrosion inhibitor....

since u asked for constructive critisizm and all ive done is (>< ) ...
yah look into the rd30 with a meanwell power supply. The pump is mind blowingly good and bulletproof. another plus for the iwaki is that in the cube case, just like the lianli v2000, there are an imense number of places u could fix the pump's power supply

[serialk11r]

for the love of god dont put an ac aquatube in that loop! the appogee gtx with the annodised al top is bad enough! if u do go thru with it and get it then pls get some uber corrosion inhibitor....

since u asked for constructive critisizm and all ive done is (>< ) ...
yah look into the rd30 with a meanwell power supply. The pump is mind blowingly good and bulletproof. another plus for the iwaki is that in the cube case, just like the lianli v2000, there are an imense number of places u could fix the pump's power supply

Um, its PLATED ALUMINUM...
And petra is going to stock RD pumps and voltage converting thingies soon, I hope.

[serialk11r]

RD pumps are no way in heck worth the money IMO. its like a whole great setup for that one pump's price

Uh, you sure? All iwaki pumps are extremely high quality, good motor efficiency, teflon bearings, teflon coated whatever everywhere, reliable...you just need to know where to look for them.

[serialk11r]

arent they like 250+ a pump?

thats ridicule IMO

Ridiculous? Hell no, lots of applications need a reliable pump of good quality such as the iwakis. If you're resourceful you can find them cheaper than that...

[serialk11r]

Who said an expensive pump watercooling was necessary?
Performance is first if you have the money to spend. People with 8000 dollar computers could care less about 200 extra.

[nattoNrice]

yeah i have both the rd30 and ddc2 and i just dont feel confortable walking out of the house with my rig folding when useing the ddc2. the rd30 is the most awesome pump ive ever had the pleasure using however my advice is to get a dedicated power supply. the rd30 has a large current draw at start up that would make me feel uneasy having it on a normal psu.

edit: yeah my mistake, plated al... either way on the off chance there is an error in plating, even a micron across, just scares me