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Newbie Help! (Next PC Build)

F

foodfightr

Golden Member
Ok, I'm making my next build and I've never really looked to far into cooling or overclocking for my previous builds. I have a Toledo Core X2 3800 and a DFI Lanparty SLI-DR motherboard.

Should I buy:
  1. Cheap Case (Cool Looking) + Water Cooling (Reccomend a newbie kit!)
  2. Thermaltake Eclispe
  3. Antec P180

In general I don't know much about cooling, so also any pointers on what I need (paste, cpu coolers, etc.) would be awesome!
 
Since you say you are a novice on cooling I say go with a nice quality case like the P180. Don't worry about WC'ing until you familiarize yourself w/ oc'ing and your likes/dislikes. If you like silence then the P180 is near impossible to beat. Along with that silence you can achieve great cooling w/ proper fan selection/placement & proper HSF's. What is your budget exactly? We will better be able to suggest w/ that knowledge.
 
Not "dissing" the Antec case.

I hadn't seen the Eclipse before. One thing ThermalTake has done with many of its cases is to design them with good airflow in mind. This is obvious from the front-panel 120mm fan placement and the exhaust 120mm fan placement. There's plent of room for hard disks, even though this is a midtower case.

I don't know what it costs, even so. Probably something significantly less than the ThermalTake Armor, which you'd be lucky to find on special sale or discount for about $135.

My "personal preferences," to quote the poster, would be to start with something like the ThermalRight SI-120 -- provided it doesn't bump into the PSU and that it fits. Strong possibility that it will, but do the research . . .

With that and the rear-exhaust fan, I'd duct the CPU-HSF and motherboard. But try it without all that trouble, first.

You'd be able to beat the cooling of this solution only by buying -- and installing -- a mid- to top-end water-cooler. Your idle temperature might be a few degrees higher, but the difference between that and load would probably over-lap a water-cooling kit's performance.
 
The eclipse is nice...seen it...I have a Tsunami...the Eclipse essentially is a Tsunami (and many others as TT uses this internal chassis on several cases) with a makeover. $115 @ the egg. Since I have both cases and worked with them I can confidently say that the P180 is on a completely different level than the TT midrange cases. I like the Tsunami...it has great airflow and is quite roomy...it also looks very nice...main issue is its resonance>very bad.....the P180 can be had for a few $'s more than the Eclipse so imo its ano brainer unless your like the looks of the Eclipse better. Also look at Lian Li's (they are more expensive), but build quality is 2nd to none. I dont mean to just suggest the P180 alone, its just that for the $$, the P180 is a very solid choice and hard to beat. All this aside, OP you pick what you want and what you like. 😉 Bonzai's suggestion on the SI 120 is right on in my book...the ducting is a great idea as well if your into modding & good silent cooling...if your budget is low, then the XP90 w/fan at jab or svc is right up your alley. I like AS5 for thermal grease, but there are several others that will work just fine. DFI comes w/ round cables so your set there. PSU? Dont skimp on it!! lol
 
Bonzai's suggestion on the SI 120 is right on in my book...the ducting is a great idea as well if your modding & good silent cooling...if your budget is low, then the XP90 w/fan at jab or svc is right up your alley. I like AS5 for thermal grease, but there are several others that will work just fine. DFI comes w/ round cables so your set there. PSU? Dont skimp on it!! lol

yep-=---the Xp120 or XP90 will work just fine!!
 
In the "mid tower" review (most recent) on this site, they said the thermaltake eclispe beat the antec p180... (1) would you say that the p180 is quieter? The only thing I didn't like is that there is no window to see into the case. I like using UV cables and lighting to spruce up the look of my PC.

(2) Probably a stupid question but does the S120 fit dual core processors?

(3) Also, you guys don't reccomend buying a cheap case that looks decent and installing a packaged water cooling kit?

EDIT: Gold (TT Eclipse) Silver (P180)
 
Anything but #1. That would just be absolutely pointless. And this thread is screaming "poll". 🙂 Can you hear it?
Tas.
 
foodfighter -- No question is "stupid." HSF's are spec'd to fit processors by socket. Either the XP-120, XP-90, XP-90C or the SI-120 are "universal" -- fitting either socket-478 and LGA775 Intel, or socket-939 (and earlier) with application of some minor hardware included in the box.

Here's where I'M WRINGING MY HANDS, PULLING MY HAIR and CALLING MYSELF "STUPID." Galvanized Yankee has described his pack-rat penchant for piling up cyber-junk, hoping for that day when it becomes useful. That was ME, also.

For years, I saved boxes of those plastic drive-rails and metal fittings with every hard-drive purchase, never finding an application for them. Now, I'm modding old cases, and the "kludgy-est" part of my work is in the fabrication of drive cages, choosing to simply pop-rivet them into the case, cannibalizing and cutting up discarded cages to make them fit together.

Last week, I took all those rails and fittings down to my friend Max at his hole-in-the-wall computer store -- cyber-junk which I trade for discarded ATX cases -- picking up this time an entire 90's-era ComPaq ProLiant Server with 486 mobo, EISA SCSI-2 controller, drives as thick as a loaf of bread and weighing each as much as a brick, with hot-swap fittings. Now -- for THAT case -- I shouldn't need to fabricate drive cages, but for others . . .

Now I see the innards of the Antec P180. I could DO that with plastic drive rails!! Darn it!!
 
Cheap cases aren't a good idea for several reasons including - usually looks cheap, may be flimsy, may injure your fingers.

Water cooling kits for newbies for under $200 (minus case price) may likely give you no more performance than a decent fan/heatsink.

I recommend against the Antec P180 for a self-professed newbie because of the non-standard layout.

I recommend against any huge HSF (like the SI-120) for a self-professed newbie because of the size.

What do I recommend for a newbie?

Good but reasonably sized heatsink (Zalman 7000AlCu, Thermalright XP-90 kit).

Case with reasonable airflow in his price range that he likes the looks of. For "reasonable airflow" post a few choices here and we can answer "yea or nay." The Tt Eclipse looks to be a "yea" based on pics, though I don't have personal experience with it.
 
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