Two noobs not in trouble ... yet!

[godra]

Two noobs not in trouble ... yet!

I've been using computers at work for 15 years, but never built one. My 12 years old son, who is a gamer big time, and I plan to do that during coming holidays. We took the plunge (2007 tax return) at NewEgg. I hope I did not overdo it when ordering components. We have got some ideas (thanks to this forum as well) what we are supposed to do, but any advice with "as configured" system is more than welcome. Will it all fit?

ABIT IP35 Pro LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz LGA 775 - Retail

ZALMAN CNPS9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler - Retail

G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000)

HIS Hightech H385F256NP Radeon HD 3850 256MB

Western Digital Raptor WD740 74GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - Retail

HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000 750GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

SAMSUNG 20X DVD±RW SATA SH-S203B - OEM

CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX Power Supply - Retail

Gigabyte Poseidon Case - Retail

Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Premium - OEM

Happy Holidays!

 

[TestedAcorn]

What are the dimensions of the case? And if you need a building guide here's one http://www.mechbgon.com/build/index.html Bookmark this.

 

[JustaGeek]

And i would remove that Zalman CPU cooler.

I do not think that you are going to do any overclocking, so the stock Intel HSF will be more than sufficient.

 

[godra]

1. According to the http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/...jsp?ProductCode=241610, the dimensions of the case are:

200 x 440 x 495 mm (W x H x D) = 7.87" x 17.32" x 19.5" (W x H x D)

2. I'm looking for a silent system (if there is one). Plan is to keep a large ZALMAN CNPS9700 at the slow/middle speed. Otherwise could have saved $60.

Thanks for your comments TestedAcorn and JustaGeek.

 

[seemingly random]

Originally posted by: godra
I'm looking for a silent system (if there is one).

This is going to depend on the case fans - did good on the psu - once you return that Zalman. They used to be tops but no more. A $20 Arctic Freezer hsf is sufficient over the noisy stock hsf for non-oc pc's.

 

[TestedAcorn]

The room in the case is sufficient. I would say, do what seemingly random said, get a $20 arctic freezer.

Just in case you want a slightly bigger case for about the same price http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811119074

Only thing is, this one only has 1 120mm fan, and 1 80 mm fan, instead of 2 120 mm fans. More room though. If he's a really big gamer and he wants to play the newest games you may need a better video card, just my opinion. If you want the card to be under $200 i would suggest an X1950XT.

 

[seemingly random]

Just noticed the gpu - it'll be the loudest component in the pc - so case fans might blend into the background as long as they're good quality and not operating at full speed. Any case should have, at a minumum, one 120mm rear fan and another that blows on the hd's - in addition to the hsf. The basic idea is to get a front to back flow going - it can tricky and non-intuitive - a faster fan can sometimes backfire. Depending on the placement of the pc, the front fan(s) might be annoying unless 500-700rpm.

 

[godra]

Thanks guys ... notes are well taken. I like the looks of the case (http://www.bit-tech.net/hardwa.../gigabyte_poseidon_/5) and the review is more then good. I should reconsider a choice of CPU heathsink and GPU; ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro has got a great reviews while ATI/AMD 3870 has been MIA lately.

 

[seemingly random]

Originally posted by: godra
I should reconsider ... GPU;

Any gpu with a fan is going to produce some level of noise - it's the nature of the beast. It's not a bad idea to determine just how much you'll need - and be careful with online reviews and note resolutions. Some of the more expensive ones have fan controllers (heat controlled) enabling a slower speed when internet surfing, etc.

 

[godra]

Hey Guys,
We put it all together this morning on our kitchen table. Installed Vista64 off-line (CD); ESET (NOD32) Smart Security (30 days) and the latest abit uGuru got from net using my laptop (CD). Vista rated it 5.9 across the board, except CPU at 5.5 (one day, but not soon, we might try to OC). Things look good, except uGuru. It does "work", but makes us nervous. Wobbly at best, with temperatures measured at low 20 degC ... really? Well, we did keep our room temp today low (17 degC) on purposes, but still ... Hope to put it all in the box tonight, and then get Vista updates from the net.

Have any of you used uGuru with Vista64, and what has been your experience?

 

[seemingly random]

Good job. Smart to initially build it outside of the case. I wouldn't worry too much about the cpu 'only' getting 5.5. The 7% increase to get to 5.9 will equate to ~2% increase in total system performance.

So you keep your dwelling at 62f - interesting. The summer time temps will tell the whole story since pc temps will follow ambient temps linearly. You might find that the speed of the case fans needs to be increased or more fans added. My amd cpu in an Antec p182 case is 9c higher than ambient at idle.

Sorry, no experience with uGuru.

 

[godra]

UPDATE: Used hairdryer for 10 sec to mildly heat up components around CPU and it booted OK ... Will leave it ON through the day.

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Two noobs in trouble ...?

Well, it looked great until this morning. After installing and updating OS over the weekend, I've turned it off last night. Turned it ON this morning and only got red light (power supplied to the board) ON ... diag message LCD does not display anything. Pressed power-on button on the card itself several times to no avail.

Temperature in our house has dropped to low 30's overnight ... may that be a factor? I've turned on the heat in the house and plan to try again latter today.

Should I reset CMOS memory again?