First Build

[zonerman]

Hi;

I am building my first pc and require some help.

I want a pc that will be used for gaming and work (self employed - programming and office). I probably will not overclock (much lol), and will be keeping it for awhile. My current pc is 7 years old.

I have not decided if I will water cool with or without a TEC, but if I did I would have to use non conductive coolant. Loosing my business pc would be rather troublesome.

I will look to go SLI in the future (full 2 x16).

So my choices so far ( I think)

CPU: q6600
GPU: NVidia 8800GTX 640 (second later)
DVDR: Lite-On 20x LH-20A1S DVD-RW
CDRW/DVD: Lite-on SOHC-5236K Combo Drive - 52x32x CD-R/RW, 16x DVD-ROM
Harddrives: 2 * Seagate SATA 2 500GB, 2 Western Digital 150GB Raptors
SoundCard: Creative Labs X-Fi XtremeGamer PCI
MOBO: Gigabyte GA-N680SLI-DQ6 (rev. 2.0)
Ram: Max 8MB US Modular Cold Fusion 4096MB Dual Channel PC6400 DDR2 800MHz

I am fairly certain of the above except the MOBO and memory, and also need suggestions on the case, psu and cooling.

Thanks

zonerman

 

[PCTC2]

Welcome to AT Forums!

Well, it looks good. But...
1) the 8800GTX only comes in the 768MB variety. The GTS comes in the 640MB.
2) Since you are going to be running stock, the Gigabyte 680i is a good choice, but I am not sure how it will handle quads. Another good choice is the eVGA 680i A1 revision
3) A Q6600 G0 Stepping will probably be fine since you are probably going to be keeping it for so long. Multithreaded apps will run great but for the next couple years, an overclocked dual-core will out perform it due to the immense heat load that limits overclocks. We'll have to see about the G0 steppings.
4) You're going to be running Vista Ultimate 64-bit, right? I believe only Vista 64-bit supports up to 8GB, but I'm not really sure about US Modular RAM.

As for cooling, since you are going with water, Aigomorla will post here soon. He's pretty much the local w/c guru. Another place to look for cooling is XS (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums)
If you are going to cool the motherboard, I would get the eVGA 680i instead of the Gigabyte because the Gigabyte has the immense heat-pipe system that needs to be removed, and then you need to get cooling for the MOSFETs.
If you are watercooling a GTX, and possibly a second later-on, you're going to probably run a dual-loop watercooling system b/c GTX's but out a butt load of heat. upwards of 150-200W each.
And most importantly, what is your budget for your water-cooling set-up?

 

[bailw]

Air cooling : Thermalright Ultra - 120 Extreme

PSU : PC&Power Cooling 1000W - Very reliable brand PSUs.

Case: SilverStone TJ07 or Lian Li V2000 series. Both company made good air flow and nice looking.

 

[PCTC2]

Can't believe I forgot those.
That PSU is good and also, if you water-cool, the TJ-07 is a great case.

 

[zonerman]

Hello;

Thanks guys for quick response.

The GTX was a brain freeze I did mean GTS, mostly based on price/performance ratio. I have not ruled out the GTX though (the dream remains lol).

PCTC2, I would have to run Vista Ultimate 64 to address the full 8 GB of Ram. US modular is just one of the companies I am looking at.

I am sorry for my wording about water cooling, I meant that I had not decided I would water cool, not that I would use water and was wondering about TEC systems.

I was looking at the "Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme" with "Scythe S-FLEX SFF21F 120MM Cooling Fan" from the sites reviews. Do you think this would be adequate, along with good heat pipe upgrade for the GPU and maybe Iram for memory, or would you just go water anyway? ( I admit I am somewhat hesitant about the water in the pc idea, not about my ability to put it together). I will not be going SLI soon if ever so I was hoping the simpler air coolling would suffice. I am not worried about the investment of upgrading air then moving to water as I am sure I will be able to use the air upgrades elsewhere.

IF I did go water though it would change some of my choices, for example I would go to water coolled ram ect. I think that I would also look at putting together my own kit. The ones I have looked at always seem to have some shortcomings. I believe I know which parts I would get but any advice is welcome. I would go with a dual loop system. To clarify I assume that this means using a splitter to send fresh coolant to each water block and not in series from block to block. I had looked at the Gigabyte 3D Mercury, which is a case with built in water cooling. I liked the way they designed it to split the coolant 3 ways, 1 for CPU, 1 for GPU and third which is split between north and south bridges. This ensures each block does not get preheated coolant. Problem is their cooling kit is under powered.

My budget for a water cooling system would be about $400 - $500.

For PSU I was looking at the ULTRA and OCZ 1000 watt units. I assume that OCZ and PC & Power Cooling are the same as OCZ owns PC (I beliebve).

Thank you PCTC2 and bailw for your help, I will follow up on your suggestions.


Also, not to get mushy here but its nice to see more knowledgeable people helping others. I have been checking reviews and forums for advice and often find some of the "gurus" are more concerned with showing how smart and knowledgeable they are over someone asking for help. So I am sincere in my apreciation.

Thanks

zonerman

 

[PCTC2]

The TR Ultra120 eXtreme is adequate for light overclocks of the Q6600. You'll definitely want to try to get a G0 Stepping after July 22nd if you are going air.

Actually, dual-loop means two separate water-cooling systems. So 2 of everything in two separate loops. Parallel is generally a BAD idea as it decreases flow rate and thus performance. Watercooling RAM is not necessary, but a good choice the is OCZ Flex XLC DDR2-1150. Custom water cooling loops are superior in just about every way to prebuilt loops.

A good example of a W/C system for you would be:
Petra's Tech Shop DCCT-01s Pump $100
Thermochill PA 120.3 Radiator $135
D-Tek FuZion CPU Block $65
EK FC8800 GTS Full Cover GPU Block $130
DangerDen Maze4 680i Northbridge Block $45
Swiftech MCW30 SB Block $30
Swiftech MicroRes $20
15' Masterkleer 7/16" Tubing $0.58/foot
3x Yate Loon DSH-12 Fans $3.50/each

These can be found at:
Mountainmods.com
jab-tech.com
Petrastechshop.com
performance-pcs.com

 

[zonerman]

Thanks PCTC2

I was actually looking at Petratechshop to base "my" kit on since they seemed to have the best components. So you are suggesting I use 2 times what you suggest (except blocks) for my pc? That should definateley cool the sucker. Just trying to imagine how I will configure 2 3 fan radiators.

I notice that your rig is configured somewhat same as my initial concept, so I feel good that the upgraded Ultra-120 extreme should work well. I will probably go that way for now, I have other pc's I can pass the air to if I do go water later.

Thanks; I will look at and consider these things carefully.

zonerman