Planning a system, got input?

arsenal · Post by **arsenal** » Mon Nov 29, 2004 11:34 pm

Planned Purchases:

Case: Thermaltake Tsunami VA3000
PSU: Seasonic SS-400FB Super Tornado 400W
Video Card: nVidia 6800GT
Mobo: Abit AV8
CPU: AMD64 3500+
Cooling: Zalman Reserator
Fan Controller: Vantec NXP-305 3.5"
Fans: Two Panaflo L1A 120mm
DVD Reader: AOpen 1648

I haven't bothered picking a specific brand for the 6800GT. I'll choose at the time of ordering based on prices and availibility. The warranty is not important to me because it will be invalidated when I change the cooling on it. I'm hopng to get Zalman's GPU water block and I'm in correspondance with their marketing department trying to see if it'll be produced in a relatively reasonable time from now. Fail that, I'm looking to go with a NV5 air cooler. I've considered some of the other water block out there right now but the price is a serious deterant. My thinking is that if I'm gonna spend $160 (CDN) for a dangerden block (just as an example) to buy/import it, I might as well dump that kind of cash back into the system in some other component, like maybe go with an 6800 ultra instead. But of course, money is an object for me and I'm trying to balance cost and effectiveness.

Salvaging From the Current System:

OCZ 3200 2x512
NEC 2510A DVD burner
Two WD 36Gb Raptors in RAID 0
Two SmartDrive 2002 Drive Enclosures

For this build I have a few goals in mind:

1. High-end gaming computer that's going to last a while.
2. Reasonable silence; a system that can be left on.

Any thoughts on my selection of parts?

ps. my first post ever w00t!

rtree · Post by **rtree** » Tue Nov 30, 2004 5:47 am

Aren't some 6800GT's with non-reference cooling "quieter" by default? Like the Leadtek or the Gigabyte? It would save you the trouble of having to fit a NV Silencer and void warranty, I guess.

Then again, if you are water cooling the GPU for sure, cheapest and most available 6800GT like you said makes most sense.

Spod · Post by **Spod** » Tue Nov 30, 2004 6:00 am

I think you'll find the Nexus 120mm fans quieter than... well, every other 120mm fan, really. And you can undervolt them with a fanmate or something if they're still too noisy at 12V.

If money is an object, why the extra DVD reader? Do you need to copy DVDs so often that it's a big pain to copy them to the hard disk and write them back using the same drive?

If you decide the Graphics waterblock is a non-starter, there are a few 6800GT cards that come with the NV5 silencer already integrated. You'll probably want to fanmate it if you go that route.

You'll probably find you get better performance by running those Raptors separately, not in RAID 0 - OS, apps and games on the first drive, pagefile (fixed size) and data on the second. Check out Storage Review for the full details and reasoned debate.

Finally, Welcome to SPCR!

burcakb · Post by **burcakb** » Tue Nov 30, 2004 6:37 am

Go with Nexus fans @ 12V and get rid of the fan controller. One less thing to buy/worry about. You won't hear the Nexus @ 12V - i think - because you have an aluminium case that'll probably resonate a lot with those raptors.

arsenal · Post by **arsenal** » Tue Nov 30, 2004 1:41 pm

rtree wrote:Aren't some 6800GT's with non-reference cooling "quieter" by default? Like the Leadtek or the Gigabyte?

Well my main conundrum with the video card cooling is that I'm hoping to get a GPU waterblock, but Zalman's rep's are naturally reluctant to give me any hint of a release date for it. A NV5 is kind of my fallback position, since it's not that expensive to begin with. There's no way I can stick with the stock cooling on even the "quieter" 6800GT's. From the reviews I've read their still obscenely loud.

Spod wrote:I think you'll find the Nexus 120mm fans quieter than... well, every other 120mm fan, really. And you can undervolt them with a fanmate or something if they're still too noisy at 12V.

If money is an object, why the extra DVD reader? Do you need to copy DVDs so often that it's a big pain to copy them to the hard disk and write them back using the same drive?

If you decide the Graphics waterblock is a non-starter, there are a few 6800GT cards that come with the NV5 silencer already integrated. You'll probably want to fanmate it if you go that route.

You'll probably find you get better performance by running those Raptors separately, not in RAID 0 - OS, apps and games on the first drive, pagefile (fixed size) and data on the second. Check out Storage Review for the full details and reasoned debate.

In the order you've laid out:
-My retailer of choice only sells ugly orange 120mm nexus fans for some reason, but I think I will take ur advice and search for some black ones since they are reputably more quiet.
-I need a DVD reader because my Writer is a notoriously great writer and a notoriously bad reader. I get skipping with playback, even with retail DVDs. But a new reader with a good rep is only 40 bucks, so I thought what the hey.
-I havn't seen anyone selling 6800GT's with integrated NV5's. If you know of a Canadian online retailer (has to be Canadian or it'll cost me like 150 bucks to import the card) let me know for sure, I'd be very interested in maintaining a warrenty if possible,
-I'll check out that storage idea for sure. I had heard that RAID 0 was as good as it gets but I'm open to ideas, especially if they make my comp faster for free

burcakb wrote:because you have an aluminium case that'll probably resonate a lot with those raptors

Actually, I can barely heard my raptors because of the excessively expensive hearddrive enclosures they're in.

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Tue Nov 30, 2004 4:35 pm

arsenal wrote: -My retailer of choice only sells ugly orange 120mm nexus fans for some reason, but I think I will take ur advice and search for some black ones since they are reputably more quiet.

Black 120mm Nexii? Where did you hear about these? Got a link?

eidolon · Post by **eidolon** » Tue Nov 30, 2004 5:23 pm

regarding the ASUS A8V, make sure you've the most recent bios and have surfed this forum regrading starting up a 3500+ 90nm winchester CPU.

Based on my experiences I've been recommending the MSI neo platinum board. As a matter of fact, i believe, that with the nvidia chipset it's getting better reviews than the ASUS.

arsenal · Post by **arsenal** » Tue Nov 30, 2004 6:10 pm

Ralf Hutter wrote:Black 120mm Nexii? Where did you hear about these? Got a link?

I assumed you could buy black ones... does nexus only make orange 120mm fans?

Tibors · Post by **Tibors** » Tue Nov 30, 2004 9:25 pm

Yes, the 120mm Nexus is only availlable in orange.

What's wrong with orange? Nexus is a Dutch brand. Dutch like orange

arsenal · Post by **arsenal** » Wed Dec 01, 2004 10:38 am

I'm gonna mod the case and was planning on a black/green theme.

might have to stick with the panaflo L1A, I don't think I'm up for painting a fan

)

teejay · Post by **teejay** » Wed Dec 01, 2004 1:01 pm

Tibors wrote:Yes, the 120mm Nexus is only availlable in orange.

What's wrong with orange? Nexus is a Dutch brand. Dutch like orange

Yeah! ORANGE ROCKS!

Actually, I think they're ugly, and besides, the color clashes with my red-painted-windowed case I still keep around out of a sense of nostalgia, but these days I prefer silence over looks... must be getting older 'cause I'm sure getting wiser!