New Gaming Rig [Archive] - Aria Forums - UK's #1 Performance Hardware Community

ERazor

14-05-08, 21:17

Hi,

Firstly, a quick introduction: I've been looking for a new PC for some time and am now trying to knock something together. I like to play a variety of games as well as a large amount programming and day to day processing/browsing on my PC. The system is mainly aimed at gaming and will hopefully last me for a good couple of years and any feedback would be most appreciated.

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
Cooler: ASUS Silent Knight II
Graphics: nVidia GeForce 9800GTX
Motherboard: ASUS P5E X38
Power Supply: OCZ 700W GameXStream
Hard Drive: 74GB WD Raptor 16mb
RAM: OCZ 4GB PC2-8500 (2x 2GB)
Sound Card: Creative X-Fi Gamer
Optical Drives: 2x Samsung SH-S202N
Case: Antec 900 Ultimate Gamer
OS: Vista Ultimate x64
Monitor: 20" Widescreen DGM Multimedia

Total: ~£1200 (pretty much my budget - but may be persuaded to wait to put extra cash in)

Firstly, I hope that the kit is all compatible (please correct me if I am wrong!). The price is a little higher than all the kit alone as I have a dead pixel check and system labour charge added (I am hoping Aria will put this together - anyone know if they will/won't?)

Although I am not attuned to the hardware side of things, I would like to overclock the system and from what I have read about the Q6600 and with the 9800GTX to some extent too. Would the case/CPU cooler be adequate for this or would extra fans be required/recommended? In addition, would the Silent Knight II be capable of OCing the Q6600 up to around 3.0Ghz whilst still keeping it cool or is there an alternative (besides water cooling :P) that would be better for this?

Also, while I am kind of close to the subject of performance, I have heard the Raptors can be a little noisy - is it that bad? ... and if so, would it be better to stick to a 7200Rrpm 32MB drive or get some sort of dampening to compensate for this?

My final question relates to the operating system. I love XP - don't get me wrong, it rocks, and I saw a drop in performance using it on my current setup (Laptop: 1.8Ghz Dual Core, Mobility X1800). I was wondering, however, if with the introduction of Vista SP1 and this kit, would the difference be negligible if at all noticeable?

Annnnyway, sorry for the waffle - I tend to do that when I get carried away. Hopefully everything makes sense - let me know if it doesn't and I'll be happy to clarify. Recommendations are highly welcome!

Thanks in advance,
Andy

Lynx

14-05-08, 21:23

Trade that Raptor for a F1 drive, much more space, and speed difference is unnoticable. Second, to get full out of your games choose Vista, I use it on moderate spec pc, and it loads quicker than Xp ever did. As for the monitor, I would go for a better brand like LG or similar.

wonderlust

14-05-08, 21:34

i would change the Heatsink to an Arctic cooling Freezer 7 #20729

The IDE DVD burners for Sata ones ie SH-S203 #29919

And i agree with Lynx, the latest 7200 Rpm drives are now as quick (as far as transfer speed) as the Raptors, you will get more space too for less money.

ERazor

14-05-08, 21:34

Thanks for the quick reply. It appears that most places I read, there is always a split with Raptors, but I may well lean towards the F1 due to the huge size difference.

As far as monitors are concerned, I don't really want to be paying >£120 for one. Would you recommend the ASUS VW195S or is a good 19" for that kind of price kind of rare?

Edit:

Thanks for the tip with the Arctic Cooling 7 and burners

Looks like I'll definately go with the F1

Lynx

14-05-08, 21:51

I have that exact monitor, huge specs for the money and performs brilliantly, no ghosting or any bad stuff, has presets and looks sexy, i would recomend one very much.

marsey99

15-05-08, 07:49

ERazor

15-05-08, 07:55

wonderlust

15-05-08, 10:52

the ac7 pro will limit your clock on a quad (sorry lusty buts its true) this gets my vote for budget cooler atm (http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Fans%2C+Heatsinks%2C+Coolers/Socket+754%2C+939%2C+775/OCZ+Vendetta+2+CPU+Cooler+%28All+sockets%29+?produ ctId=31337).

totally agree with the above on the samsungs and vista but i know nothing about the screens.

It will, but only at the very top end. Anandtech, when they reviewed it they could "only" get 3850Mhz from an X6800, while the ThermalRight Ultra 120 Extreme (that I am running :D) got 3940Mhz.

Most people are satisfied with a q6600 at 3,3.2 or 3.6Ghz which the Freezer 7 should provide.

http://www.anandtech.com/casecoolingpsus/showdoc.aspx?i=3210&p=8

nft99

15-05-08, 11:08

agree with what others have said so far, dump the raptor, dont get ide drives sata much better, the freezer 7 is the great cooler at the price and monitors i would suggest a LG if the budget goes far enough maybe the 24inch?

marsey99

15-05-08, 12:42

Thanks for the replies guys.

Marsey99: When you say 'budget' cooler, are you referring to non water cooled solutions, as the cooling on Aria is sub £35 for air cooling? Would the OCZ cooler be able to support 3.0Ghz sustained at a relatively low temp?

well what i mean is its £25, the fan i have on my cpu heatsink nearly cost that much. if you was on a tight budget i would say f7p all day as its miles better than stock but your dropping 1200 quid give or take, a tenner more for lower temps is a good idea. even more so when you find out that the £25 blower you bought cools as well as ones that can cost nearly twice as much.

that ocz unit is about as new a tech as it comes in air coolers, it has direct heatpipe tech on the base and pressed dimples on the fins. both of these things have been proven to improve the performance and will most likley be incorparated by all the big cooling companies.

both will get you 3ghz i have no doubt, but i also have no doubt that the ocz 1 will do it a good few c cooler than the freezer pro can. alternativly you would be able to have the ocz spinning slower and get the same temps as the f7p at full tilt.

@lusty
from what i have seen/read on other forums the f7p runs out of steam around the 3.0/3.2ghz mark with a quad. it can do 3.6ghz+ with a duo (link in my sig shows that m8) but the quads are its limits. dont forget that the tests they run on anand are not in a case but on a open bench and they are also in aircon'd rooms. most of us in the uk dont have ac and do have a propper case.

wonderlust

15-05-08, 13:39

Agreed,

thats why i didn't go with one for my quad.

I am a fan of Arctic Cooling, I am running a couple of Freezer 64 pros, They are not the quietest by any means either. I have one which is the pwm so is not too bad, had to buy a fan mate for the other.

Personally if you have the space I would recommend the TRUE and a Nexus 120mm PWM.

Aaron

15-05-08, 18:08

I was on a budget for my new build, so it was a freezer7 for me. But its got my E8400 up to 4.2Ghz, staying below 50/c with the fan spinning at less than 700Rpm.. so its not too bad for just over a tenner! :)

ERazor

16-05-08, 18:56

PeterStoba

16-05-08, 19:26

By TRUE he means thermalright ultra extreme 120, the best heatsink on the market. Aria don't stock it.

You asked about PSU's, for that i would reccomend 24586 / 26715 and most definately 27381

marsey99

16-05-08, 20:57

....thermalright ultra extreme 120, the best heatsink on the market....

i would beg to differ on that one but not many people have done a side by side comparison of the true vs the ifx-14 so....well acroding to my bios and all the software i have used mine has my cpu at bellow ambient (love the wind chill) and my cores, well my sensors stick at 25c and 31c but as yet i have never seen them go above 55c and that was running 4.28ghz on 1.37v under load(orthos) on a very warm dayin a 27c room temp.

coolermasters new heatsink has also ment to have passed the true in performance aswell but again noone has yet tested them to prove it or not. looking at it tho i would not be shocked if it is, its huge. its also one of the few that can cool a quad passive (mine being another :D).

Aaron

17-05-08, 00:05

mine has my cpu at bellow ambient Isnt that impossible tho? :S

marsey99

17-05-08, 08:14

its the wind chill effect i guess, my case is basically a wind tunnle with pc componants in it.

right this second this room is 23c, the thermal probes in my case are saying the case is 24.2c/24.7c and accroding to the software my cpu is 21c and my cores are again stuck at 25c/31c. mobo is 31c hd is 26c and my gpu is 41c. i would think that you could class this as idle temps as my pc has been on for about 9 days with only 1 quick resart in that time.

wonderlust

17-05-08, 08:58

Wonderlust: When you say the Nexus 120mm PWM are you referring to #30573 for the side of the case or something else? Also, is the 'TRUE' the #24513 580W PSU, and if so, would this supply have enough power for the system? (sorry for ignorance, but I have no idea how to gauge component power consumption)

Thanks for all of the help guys - it is really appreciated!

As stated already the True is the ThermalRight...

Yes that is the fan i have attached to my true, when the chip is idling (at 2Ghz due to EIST and my to 3Ghz overclock) the fan runs at around 450RPM and totally silent. Core temps taken with CPUid's Hardware monitor are 35,35,31,30. When the processor is working hard and/or temps rise above 40 degrees it the fan speeds up to an audible, but not loud 1850 ish RPM. running like this at 3Ghz running Prime95 I get 49,50,43,42.

wonderlust

17-05-08, 08:58

marsey99

17-05-08, 09:12

yep

i would guess at 1.8k rpm that most of the noise is the wind running thru the fins more than the fan itself.

edit

found some more recent reviews that have put the true and ifx-14 head to head.

http://www.driverheaven.net/reviews.php?reviewid=556&pageid=4

http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=485&type=expert&pid=5

this is spanish and only compares it to the tuniq but bear in mind the true is normally only 1 or 2c cooler than the tt 120.
http://www.adslzone.net/postt121488.html

a german site but numbers are numbers
http://66.196.80.202/babelfish/translate_url_content?.intl=uk&lp=de_en&trurl=http%3a%2f%2fwww.silenthardware.de%2freviews %2fcpu%2fthermalright_ifx_14%2fkuhlercharts_oc%2fi ndex.html

and the winner for best heatsink on the market goes to....

wonderlust

17-05-08, 09:53

Isn't there some discussion about the way that the 45nm chips have the temperature readouts set? Ie Intel don't reveal the TJ max and that it is a guess on the authors of the readout apps.

As for the 1800Rpm yes probably is the fins. been running Prime95 for an hour and so far the max reached is 52,52,46,45 which IMHO is better than the stock HSF @ 2.4Ghz :D

marsey99

17-05-08, 10:04

i would place a small bet that the true is better passive than the stock intel tbh.

all the big boys in the oc world seem to think the tJ is 85c like the allendales, and i think they have come to this conclusion from the temps at which these chips start to throttle themselves.

edit

thats only for the cores tho, its the mobo that reports the "cpu" temp.

added some links to my last post too.

wonderlust

17-05-08, 10:46

There is one thing for sure, ThermalRight make some of the best Air coolers in the PC world.

Be interesting to see how either cooler would perform if they were dierct contact like the newer coolers from other manufacturers seem to be.

Aaron

17-05-08, 11:21

its the wind chill effect i guess, my case is basically a wind tunnle with pc componants in it.

I'm not saying you're wrong, by any means - i'm just trying to get my head around it! I understood windchill was that moving wind can remove heat quicker and more efficiently than static air, and the quicker the air was moving, the more quickly and efficiently the heat was removed from the thing the air is blowing passed. But it doesnt actually cool the air. And so the air can only cool the object down to the temperature that the air is at. I cant get my head around how something which is at 15 degrees, could cool something to 10 degrees, for example.

And again, I'm not having a go.. Just trying to understand :)

Lynx

17-05-08, 11:23

I am not convinced by windchill, my understanding is that windchill makes things feel cooler than they are rather than making things cooler than they are.

Aaron

17-05-08, 11:55

Thats pretty much what my understanding is too, but I may well be wrong, which is why i'm asking the question..! :)

Aaron

17-05-08, 11:58

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_chill

Replace "Skin" with "Heatsink" :lol: :lol:

Lynx

17-05-08, 12:28

So bascially were right?

Aaron

17-05-08, 12:33

Well, that article would suggest so.. But at the same time, I'm still not convinced marsey is wrong :lol:

marsey99

17-05-08, 12:51

it is what it is lads,

Wind chill is the apparent temperature (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felt_air_temperature) felt on exposed skin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin), which is a function of the air (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air) temperature (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temperature) and wind speed (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_speed). The wind chill temperature (often popularly called the wind chill factor) is always lower than the air temperature...

replace skin with, heatsink, and you get what i mean.

to give you the picture of my airflow, i have a stock intel 2k fan blowing thru my nb heatsink into my cpu heatsink, that has a 120mm fan spinning at 1.6k in the middle and then above that i have 2 120mm fans also running at 1.6k rpm, now i also have a heasink atatched to the backing plate for the heatsink which is 2 more heat pipes running to another set of fins which also has the airflow of 1 of the fans in the roof blowing out thru it.

right now the room temp is 20c (ish +/- .5) and my case is reading 21.5c but the cpu is reading 18c. cores again at their stuck sensor speeds of 25/31c, mobo 27c, gpu 37c.

it makes thing feel cooler because it is cooler than the air alone and the air moving stops any condensation build up.

Lynx

17-05-08, 15:25

It is a simple fact that things cool to the temperature of the surroundings, eg, a hot drink goes room temperature, even if outside it would still be ambient outside temperature, if the windchill made it feel like 3 degrees when it was 10 for instance, the cup of tea would be 10 degrees. At lower temperatures, the temperature readings get mroe off the mark on cpus, their temp range is from 30-100 ish. with the error rate in what they read getting bigger at lower temps.

marsey99

17-05-08, 16:49

if thats the case how do i keep getting a cpu temp reporting 2c ish below ambient? the only thing it can be is the wind chill.