Core i7 920 System - Confused

Domain · Post by **Domain** » Sat May 09, 2009 2:36 pm

I have been lurking on the site/forums for a few months now, trying to find a system that best meets my needs, while staying within the confines of of a system that would be relatively quiet (unlike the 'the neighbors can hear it' system I currently own). That said, I haven't put a system together from scratch in nearly a decade

, so the sheer number of options available today has left me somewhat confused... hopefully someone might be able to provide some clarification.

Case - Antec P183
Power Supply - Enermax EMD625AWT (Modu82+ 625W)
Fan(s) - Scythe SY1225SL12L (Slipstream 120mm 800RPM)
Heat Sink - Scythe Mugen-2
CPU - Intel Core i7 920
Motherboard - Intel DX58SO
Memory - Mushkin HP3-12800 (3x2GB 1600MHz 1.5-1.6V)
Video - Asus ENGTX275
Sound - ESI Juli@ (Pre-existing)
Hard Drive - 2x Western Digital WD7501AALS (Black 750GB)
DVDRW - 2x Plextor 755SA (Pre-existing)

Based on these components (I have no intention of overclocking/sli/crossfire/etc.) my questions are:

Power Supply - Is 625W too much/to little? There is a possibility I may eventually expand to a total of 4x HDD, but that is the extent of additions.

Heat Sink - Is it possible to run this without a fan based on this configuration? Additionally (this may sound silly) but does the extreme weight of these heat sinks affect the lifespan of the motherboard/processor?

Video - I am going to assume that this will be the loudest component in the system? I expect some level of noise when a system is loaded, but I fear this will undo all the other attempts to 'quiet' the system at idle.

Hard Drive - I would assume this choice will also be fairly loud? Would I be better served with attempting to use the 'Green Power' drives?

I appreciate any help that can be provided

mentawl · Post by **mentawl** » Sat May 09, 2009 3:50 pm

625w should be absolutely fine - I'm running a similar-ish system on a 520w Corsair with no issues whatsoever (and I have 3 HDs and am overclocking).

I wouldn't recommend running a passive heatsink on an i7 - I just don't think it's worth the hassle when adding a nice quiet 120mm fan to the Mugen-2 will add next to no noise to the system and keep everything so much cooler - you've got to rememeber that the i7s are rated to 130w TDP - if you ever load all the cores up, it could seriously tax a passive heatsink. It looks like the Mugen 2 is a bolt-through cooler with a decently substantial baseplate, so I wouldn't worry too much about weight issues unless you're regularly throwing the PC around.

Speaking purely from personal experience with my GTX260, and going by the reviews of the 275, I wouldn't worry about the noise of the graphics card HSF at idle - it's next to nothing, and will easily be drowned out by just about any other noise source in the system. With a well-ventilated case like the P183, I'd be surprised if the video card heatsink needed to ramp up much at all. While that's being mentioned, make sure you populate at least one of the intake fan spots on the P183 (probably the one in front of the video card) - you'll need to buy an extra 120mm fan for that, I think.

The WD Black drives are a little loud, but not terribly so - and in a P183 they won't be too bad at all. I would consider using a pair of 640gb WD Blues though, for a decent drop in vibration and noise while not sacrificing much in the way of speed at all. The Green drives, while extremely quiet, are a fair bit slower than a Blue or Black drive when used as a boot device - although they excel as bulk storage.

Hope that's of some use. /ramble

darkgreen · Post by **darkgreen** » Sat May 09, 2009 3:56 pm

mentawl wrote:625w should be absolutely fine - I'm running a similar-ish system on a 520w Corsair with no issues whatsoever (and I have 3 HDs and am overclocking).

I wouldn't recommend running a passive heatsink on an i7 - I just don't think it's worth the hassle when adding a nice quiet 120mm fan to the Mugen-2 will add next to no noise to the system and keep everything so much cooler - you've got to rememeber that the i7s are rated to 130w TDP - if you ever load all the cores up, it could seriously tax a passive heatsink.

Speaking purely from personal experience with my GTX260, and going by the reviews of the 275, I wouldn't worry about the noise of the graphics card HSF at idle - it's next to nothing, and will easily be drowned out by just about any other noise source in the system. With a well-ventilated case like the P183, I'd be surprised if the video card heatsink needed to ramp up much at all. While that's being mentioned, make sure you populate at least one of the intake fan spots on the P183 (probably the one in front of the video card) - you'll need to buy an extra 120mm fan for that, I think.

The WD Black drives are a little loud, but not terribly so - and in a P183 they won't be too bad at all. I would consider using a pair of 640gb WD Blues though, for a decent drop in vibration and noise while not sacrificing much in the way of speed at all. The Green drives, while extremely quiet, are a fair bit slower than a Blue or Black drive when used as a boot device - although they excel as bulk storage.

Hope that's of some use. /ramble

This just occurred to me: the WD Black/blue/green thing - does it indicate noise performance? Maybe I'm a schmuck who just never read the right article but I never knew that

mentawl · Post by **mentawl** » Sat May 09, 2009 4:00 pm

The Black / Blue / Green thing is pretty much how WD seperate their drive classes - Black is performance at all cost, with minimal nod towards acoustics. Blue is decent performance, decent acoustics and decent power draw. Green is ultra-economical, with acceptable performance for bulk storage, some of the lowest acoustics you can get in a 3.5" drive and low power.

darkgreen · Post by **darkgreen** » Sat May 09, 2009 4:06 pm

mentawl wrote:The Black / Blue / Green thing is pretty much how WD seperate their drive classes - Black is performance at all cost, with minimal nod towards acoustics. Blue is decent performance, decent acoustics and decent power draw. Green is ultra-economical, with acceptable performance for bulk storage, some of the lowest acoustics you can get in a 3.5" drive and low power.

Sweet, thanks. And fast response!

JamieG · Post by **JamieG** » Sat May 09, 2009 5:31 pm

Looks like a pretty good start!

Why are you going with an Intel motherboard though - something from Asus or Gigabyte would be a better choice IMO.

Also, just be aware that you may encounter problems in the mounting orientation of the Mugen 2 and blocking some of the RAM slots - I remember seeing something about it in another article on an Asus X58 mobo. Other CPU coolers to consider would be the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme 1366 or the Noctua NH-U12P 1366.

I second the recommendation of a front intake fan.

Depending on your temps, you may or may not need the top exhaust fan. Slipstreams aren't suitable for horizontally mounted fans, so I would get a Scythe S-Flex instead.

I would recommend the following fans (remove all included Antec Tri-Cools): Slipstream 1200rpm at 5V for front intake and rear exhaust and S-Flex 1200 at 5V for top exhaust. Use some Zalman fanmates or Zalman's molex to 5V fan adapter to dial these speeds in. You should also try to mount the fans with rubber fan mounts instead of fan screws, to reduce vibration.

I would try mounting the front intake fan at the end of the middle hard drive cage to see if that makes a difference as well.

You also might want to look into suspending your hard drives in the lower cage area. There are probably plenty of good examples of suspension in a P182 in the General Gallery section of the forum, so have a look there. The WD Blue range seem like a pretty good compromise between noise and speed.

Best of luck with building your system. I haven't seen a P183 rig in the General Gallery yet, so maybe you could be the first *hint hint*

Domain · Post by **Domain** » Sat May 09, 2009 9:57 pm

Thank you for the replies thus far

I tried to do some calculations and found the 625W is probably more then I will actually need, but given the pricing difference is negligible, I see no reason to go smaller (a little head-room probably doesn't hurt).

I was kinda hoping that the Mugen-2 in the P183 might scrape by without needed an additional fan... if for no reason other then to have fewer moving parts... but i'll order an additional fan for this as well. I would be interested to see how much a difference this will make. It is my understanding that this cooler will clear the heat sinks next to the processor, and by virtue of triple channel memory, the first memory slot can be lost with any penalty as it operates in single channel mode (4 slot board).

In regards to choosing the Intel motherboard, it was less about pure specifications and more of a personal choice based on what I felt was important. I think the Intel board has everything I need, and nothing I don't... for some reason I was attracted to the fact it was entirely legacy free. If my goals for this system were a little different I would probably have gone with the Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5.

For case fans, I had originally intended to go with the 800 RPM Slipstreams in the rear (exhaust), middle and lower (intake)... should I reconsider? As I don't have any firsthand experience with the noise levels these components produce... I am taking educated guesses based on the specs/review numbers. I have see a few builds that actually block off the top fan as well, but I think i'll wait on deciding what to do with that after the rest of the system is in front of me

I may revisit suspending the HD's at a later date, but for now i'm not sure my comfort level with doing that is very high.

Domain · Post by **Domain** » Mon May 11, 2009 9:16 pm

Hmmm, well I changed my mind a little after more research due to JamieG's post... For now i've ordered the bare minimum for the case itself at least until I finish the rest of my debating over parts

So I ended up with:

Antec P183
Antec Silicone Fan Grommets
Scythe Slipstream (1200RPM, Middle/Bottom Intake, Rear Exhaust)
Scythe S-Flex (1200RPM, Upper Exhaust)
Scythe Kaze Q (3.5" Fan Controller)

I picked up the controller just for fun... it may not even fit, but it wasn't particularly expensive if it doesn't, and I had other things to order anyway... It seemed more logical then the Zalman Fan Mate 2s, but I may just end up with 'fixed' 5V.

All that said, now my pondering over this has led me to a new set of questions

Anyone have any thoughts on the Antec CP-850 power supply? I realize it is horribly overkill for this system, but given I'm using the P183, and so far as I can tell a non-proprietary/replaceable fan, I wonder if I might be a better/alternate choice.

Additionally (another silly question), in regards to Thermal Paste... any particular recommendations? The standard response I seem to get is Arctic Silver, but something about conductive compound doesn't sit well with me

judge56988 · Post by **judge56988** » Tue May 12, 2009 12:42 am

Domain wrote:
Anyone have any thoughts on the Antec CP-850 power supply? I realize it is horribly overkill for this system, but given I'm using the P183, and so far as I can tell a non-proprietary/replaceable fan, I wonder if I might be a better/alternate choice.

In the UK they cost about the same - given the reviews I've read I'd choose the Antec everytime.
If they ever bring out a lower power version, I'm getting one!

darkgreen · Post by **darkgreen** » Tue May 12, 2009 6:54 am

Domain wrote:Hmmm, well I changed my mind a little after more research due to JamieG's post... For now i've ordered the bare minimum for the case itself at least until I finish the rest of my debating over parts

So I ended up with:

Antec P183
Antec Silicone Fan Grommets
Scythe Slipstream (1200RPM, Middle/Bottom Intake, Rear Exhaust)
Scythe S-Flex (1200RPM, Upper Exhaust)
Scythe Kaze Q (3.5" Fan Controller)

Additionally (another silly question), in regards to Thermal Paste... any particular recommendations? The standard response I seem to get is Arctic Silver, but something about conductive compound doesn't sit well with me

JamieG gave me the same lesson over in my thread: viewtopic.php?p=464465#464465

Where did you order the grommets and fans from if I can ask?

Also, the arctic silver is highly resistive, which is what makes it unusual for a high thermal conduction material (I have the normal type of silver paste which is highly conductive). You can also buy straight out heat sink paste through digikey. I haven't compared the two.

Domain · Post by **Domain** » Tue May 12, 2009 3:06 pm

Well the fans I picked up at Newegg... that said their shipping rates for these little items is murder, but because they give 'bulk' discount (multiple fans++) it really ends up being about the same as from a few of the other places I order from.

The grommets (or perhaps better said 'screws') can be had at Fry's (locally, I don't know otherwise)... Antec also sells them online in their store under spare parts... but the pricing is quite ridiculous. I'm not particularly sure they will make any difference, but it was maybe around $8-9 for 16.

Maybe i'll give Scythe Thermal Elixir a try for the thermal paste... all the cooling parts are already Scythe, might as well keep it consistent

JamieG · Post by **JamieG** » Tue May 12, 2009 4:03 pm

My evangelizing in multiple threads has caught up with me!

Seriously though, based on my own experience with my P182, I do think something like what I've recommended is the best path for anyone looking to build a reasonably quiet gaming rig into a P182/3. (Which is why I'm happy to share my opinion in multiple threads.

)

The rubber grommets will make a small difference, but if your system is going to be quiet, you may as well aim for quiet right from the start.

Best of luck with your build and I'm glad to hear that my suggestions make sense to people!

Domain · Post by **Domain** » Thu May 14, 2009 11:50 pm

JamieG wrote:Best of luck with your build and I'm glad to hear that my suggestions make sense to people!

I really appreciate all the help... i've been tinkering with the first wave a parts that came in today... I'm very happy with the P183, and particularly the Kaze Q, as it seems to almost have been designed for this case (color, fit, and more importantly the door still closes).

I did also finally make my mind up on the power supply... horribly overkill wattage wise, but since I have a P183 the CP-850 ended up seeming to be the best fit. I'll certainly have plenty of headroom, not to mention a nice straight path for air flow, and a [more] easily replaceble 120mm fan.

Now its just a waiting game for the rest of the parts.