Upgrading just HSF and Case - LGA 775

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zachary80
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Upgrading just HSF and Case - LGA 775

Post by zachary80 » Thu Oct 18, 2012 5:27 pm

I've been gradually upgrading my machine from 2008 and am happy with the performance, but am looking to increase cooling a little and decrease the noise a lot. Not obsessively silent, but to the level of a PS3 or so. I would say I have about a $200 ceiling but I would be a lot more comfortable in the $100-150 range. For the case I'd like to be able to support 2-3 hard drives and a solid state drive, as well as at least one 5.25" drive for a dvd burner.

Here is the mobo: https://support.dell.com/support/edocs/ ... #wp1509164 (updated)
Specs in sig, vid card model is XFX Double D HD 7770 Black Edition 1095MHz (haven't seen its fan go above 20% which is quiet enough)

I've been watching for a sale on the Fractal Design R4 but am not set on purchasing it. I nearly bought the R3 when it was being phased out at discount. I think a positive pressure setup would work well from me, and ideally the case would have a way to mount the drives with grommets or something. Not really sure what I should be looking at for a HSF with my goals, but my cpu is a LGA775. I think the highest I've seen in CoreTemp was 64*C and in GPU-Z 48*C while running CPU+GPU in BOINC at around 80%. This is with one exhaust fan (cheap 80mm fan replacement) and the HSF (stock heatsink with cheap 80mm fan replacement) which I would say are creating most of the noise.
Last edited by zachary80 on Thu Oct 25, 2012 8:12 am, edited 1 time in total.

CA_Steve
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Re: Upgrading just HSF and Case - LGA 775

Post by CA_Steve » Thu Oct 18, 2012 7:22 pm

The link didn't work for me. My concern would be: is the dell mobo a std ATX design or did they go wacky with the layout and the mounting holes only map onto their cases? Are the pin headers std or are they unique to dell?

If it turns out the Dell mobo is a std layout, then the R4 is a nice case as is the Corsair 550D.

Cooler: Think you'll be using the socket 775 CPU for a while or upgrading sometime in the next year? If the latter, probably want one that supports 775 as well as 1155. Rumor has it that Socket 1150 (Haswell and Broadwell) should have the same hole spacings as 1155.

zachary80
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Re: Upgrading just HSF and Case - LGA 775

Post by zachary80 » Fri Oct 19, 2012 11:35 am

Yeah I can't get a link to the page anymore, and I'm not sure if it said the form factor for sure anyway.

Its a Dell Inspirion 530 (not the slim model)
Wikipedia says the mobo is a Foxconn DG33M03
This thread the final post says it was possible to transfer, but the cabling is non-standard - http://en.community.dell.com/support-fo ... 12905.aspx
This thread gives information on the pinout and a user saying foxconn says that the other mobo shipped in this model is micro atx - http://en.community.dell.com/support-fo ... 47957.aspx
This thread also identified it as some form of atx -http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1324795

As for future proc. upgrades, I don't see anything in the near future. The Q6600 is more than fast enough for everything I've thrown at it. However it might be a good idea to maintain future compatibility depending on the cost

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Re: Upgrading just HSF and Case - LGA 775

Post by CA_Steve » Fri Oct 19, 2012 1:08 pm

I'll let you track down mobo compatibility :)

scythe mugen 3 rev b is a well known $40-50 cooler that supports 775, 1155, etc.

zachary80
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Re: Upgrading just HSF and Case - LGA 775

Post by zachary80 » Thu Oct 25, 2012 8:02 am

1. I don't think I'm going to find anything reliable on the internet for the form factor. I suppose I could measure the board dimensions and then check out its current mounting. Does the image on this site look about right? It's probably been 10 years since I actually built a computer. edit: Here is the motherboard of the Dell, looks like a perfect match (upside down compared to the first link), so I only have to worry about getting the front panel working.

2. Fractal R4 and Corsair 550D both look like amazing cases. But right now Newegg has the Antec p280 for nearly half the price. How big of a step down would that case be?

3. I've found the cooler you recommended for ~$50 (also at Newegg) and I think this is the same one at Buy.com for $37 which is a relief since most of the SPCR recommended ones seem to be discontinued.

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Re: Upgrading just HSF and Case - LGA 775

Post by Ralf Hutter » Thu Oct 25, 2012 8:17 am

zachary80 wrote:edit: Here is the motherboard of the Dell, looks like a perfect match
Looks like the standard micro-ATX hole pattern to me.

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Re: Upgrading just HSF and Case - LGA 775

Post by CA_Steve » Thu Oct 25, 2012 9:18 am

The P280 is a nice case as well, esp for $80 after MIR.

zachary80
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Re: Upgrading just HSF and Case - LGA 775

Post by zachary80 » Thu Oct 25, 2012 9:34 am

Thanks for the input. I went ahead and ordered the p280. I think the R4/550D is probably my ideal case but this one is close enough with a $40+ savings. I suppose I might as well order the cooler now so I can do the upgrade in one day.

Will the stock fans for both be sufficient? I was thinking of moving the fans in the p280 so that there are two intake and one exhaust

edit-
CA_Steve, that rebate also stacks with a $10 off coupon code EMCJNHG243 so it was a $90 order with a $20 MIR

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Re: Upgrading just HSF and Case - LGA 775

Post by CA_Steve » Thu Oct 25, 2012 2:39 pm

Even better at $70 :)
zachary80 wrote: I was thinking of moving the fans in the p280 so that there are two intake and one exhaust
Good plan. Thumbs up for positive pressure. The Twocool fans are pretty quiet at the low setting and the Scythe cooler fan is great.

zachary80
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Re: Upgrading just HSF and Case - LGA 775

Post by zachary80 » Mon Oct 29, 2012 9:07 pm

Case arrived today and I just had an opportunity to take it out of the box. I thought it was going to be one of those things where it was excessively padded, but no, it is a huge case (yes I saw the warnings, no I didn't heed them). I thought my previous build was a full tower (from 2003, a very nice but noisy aluminum case from Cooler Master) but this dwarfs it. It logically makes sense though even just going from 80mm to 120mm fans. It will definitely fit in the space allotted now but I'll have to consider placement when I buy new furniture.

The Mugen 3 Rev B doesn't arrive until Friday but damn this is a good looking case, I'm so excited I might put everything together now. Looks like there is easy access to the back of the mobo from the right panel even though there isn't a removable tray.

Newegg sent me some time-limited account-tied coupons that expire Monday I think so I need to make sure everything works as expected. I might order another 120mm (it looks like they carry at least one of the Scythe's that SPCR rec's) as a backup or to give me flexibility. Any suggestions on covering the top exhaust for sound reasons and making it look good? Short-term I have some philosophy texts that will work :)

zachary80
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Re: Upgrading just HSF and Case - LGA 775

Post by zachary80 » Sat Nov 03, 2012 9:42 pm

I rebuilt the computer the night it arrived with one issue-
It seems to restart repeatedly whenever I first turn it on or reboot. I have no idea why

Any ideas?

CA_Steve
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Re: Upgrading just HSF and Case - LGA 775

Post by CA_Steve » Sun Nov 04, 2012 6:42 am

As in it always restarts and never POSTs? Is the video card's PEG (power) connector plugged in? That's usually my (slap the forehead) solution.

zachary80
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Re: Upgrading just HSF and Case - LGA 775

Post by zachary80 » Sun Nov 04, 2012 8:29 am

CA_Steve wrote:As in it always restarts and never POSTs? Is the video card's PEG (power) connector plugged in? That's usually my (slap the forehead) solution.
It restarts 1-2 times consistently (it is hard to gauge) then boots like normal. I'd have to do it a couple times to get an idea of when it happens, but it is pretty rapid. Maybe once the first couple lines pop up. It adds ~5 seconds to the total boot time which isn't a big deal but clearly something isn't right.

Otherwise though, everything works as expected. I haven't moved the fans to the front yet but even with them mounted on top the machine is dead quiet. Definitely quieter than the slim ps3 or xbox from the same distance, and at least a 5* C drop across the board. This is after running it for 3 solid days without an issue with BOINC set to use full cpu and gpu.

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Re: Upgrading just HSF and Case - LGA 775

Post by CA_Steve » Mon Nov 05, 2012 8:04 am

If you haven't already done so, clear the BIOS. It might have gotten corrupted in the move. If you are unfamiliar with the BIOS, you might want to jot down the current settings b4 you clear them :)

zachary80
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Re: Upgrading just HSF and Case - LGA 775

Post by zachary80 » Thu Nov 08, 2012 5:48 pm

CA_Steve wrote:If you haven't already done so, clear the BIOS. It might have gotten corrupted in the move. If you are unfamiliar with the BIOS, you might want to jot down the current settings b4 you clear them :)
I've turned it on twice more now, and each time it restarts twice before posting

And I've run into another problem. I can't remove the backplate from the stock motherboard, so there is no easy way I can find to install the new Scythe Mugen 3 rev B. I might be able to find some screws - the current spacing is fine but the Scythe screws won't go far enough through the Dell backplate.

I've read that I might be able to remove the stock back plate by heating it with a hair dryer, but that seems a little risky

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Re: Upgrading just HSF and Case - LGA 775

Post by CA_Steve » Thu Nov 08, 2012 9:49 pm

Don't know how much more you want to throw at this..but, you can get a new socket 775 mobo for $50-60.

zachary80
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Re: Upgrading just HSF and Case - LGA 775

Post by zachary80 » Sun Nov 11, 2012 10:19 am

CA_Steve wrote:Don't know how much more you want to throw at this..but, you can get a new socket 775 mobo for $50-60.
Looks like they range from 45-60 on newegg shipped, at the very least it is good to know if I mess something up. Right now I'm debating about keeping the old heatsink or going at it with the hair dryer.

Pro:
Allow new heatsink
Allow more RAM in future (current cap at 3gb) and DDR3
Overclocking if temps stay low
Old mobo only has PCIe 1.0, new are 1.1
I/O backplate

Con:
Uneeded cost
Only micro ATX in the lower price range
Still only USB2

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Re: Upgrading just HSF and Case - LGA 775

Post by CA_Steve » Sun Nov 11, 2012 11:46 am

Hair dryer implies glued backplate will loosen when warmed up. I've done this to open up other consumer gear (an old ipod). It's fairly safe to do. As always when handling mobo and other gear, follow ESD safety guidelines so you don't inflict static discharge (ground yourself b4 handling the board).

zachary80
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Re: Upgrading just HSF and Case - LGA 775

Post by zachary80 » Sun Nov 11, 2012 2:30 pm

CA_Steve wrote:Hair dryer implies glued backplate will loosen when warmed up. I've done this to open up other consumer gear (an old ipod). It's fairly safe to do. As always when handling mobo and other gear, follow ESD safety guidelines so you don't inflict static discharge (ground yourself b4 handling the board).
Came off pretty easily with the hairdryer. Just a couple minutes working on the backplate (heat on the back, using a mechanical pencil to apply pressure from the cpu side of the board). The hardest part was the beginning because I wasn't sure it would work so I was reluctant to put much pressure on it. The adhesive stayed on the board, so I found a loose corner and worked it off while using the heat on low.

After fighting with the thermal paste I got everything hooked up, and it is cooler and quieter than ever. Booting still seems a little weird, and doesn't seem to be following the pattern from earlier. I'm hoping it will be fine the next time I do a cold boot.

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