high end conroe build

[vaboz]

Hello everyone a friend of mine is about to build a new system and he already has the monitor, keyboard, mouse, HD and an ATI x1900xtx 512mb. He is going to use his machine for hardcore gaming. He has a budget of around $ and here is what I recommended to him(though I know almost nothing about Conroe or Conroe MBs). What is your opinion and recommendation for power supply? Also i think he wants to do some overclocking and is interested in a aftermarket cpu cooler.

MB: ASUS P5W DH DELUXE $230
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131025

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 $515
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115002

RAM: mushkin eXtreme Performance 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) $379
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820146108

Case: LIAN LI PC-V1100BPlus II Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case – Retail $240
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811112060

Windows XP-Pro $140

Power supply???? (crossfire capable power supply)

Thanks in advance!

[newbuilder14]

Nothing wrong with your selections. You could cut cost down by getting an E6600. For the RAM, go with Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800 if you wish as well. For the power supply, look at 600w+ units from the Recommended PSU list (General Hardware forum), since you seem to want high powered video cards.

[chuck4456]

If he's going to overclock, the most user-friendly 975x board is the ABIT AW9D or ABIT AW9D MAX. If he's very experienced, the ASUS is a good choice. E6600 is a great performer and dollar-for-dollar the best buy. Definitely Corsair as NB stated. Power supplies by Seasonic, PC Power & Cooling, and Silverstone are worth looking at.

[Mr.Ferrari]

Originally Posted by vaboz Power supply???? (crossfire capable power supply)

Whats your noise tolerance (is silence a goal?) and budget?

[HaloAddict19]

Originally Posted by vaboz Power supply???? (crossfire capable power supply)

For the power supply I would have to recommend a FSP 600w PSU. I have one in my machine currently and love it. It isn't advertised anywhere on newegg but in the manual it says it is CrossFire certified, so I think it should be safe. FSP is a great company and I have had nothing but quality products from them.

[vaboz]

Ok thanks for all the feedback! I will have him keep the Asus motherboard and change the ram to some Corsair. Thanks for the recomendation on the powersupply looks great to me, does anyone see anything wrong with it?

FSP Group (Fortron Source) FX600 ATX12V/EPS12V 600W Quad. SLi Power Supply $130
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817104025

Thanks everyone for helping!

[Mr.Ferrari]

I'll tell you right now, realistically that psu wont be enough for two x1900's in xfire in the long run. Especially with ocing.

I asked for budget/noise level..I assume there is none. So these are the ones I suggest:

Silverstone ST75ZF

Corsair HX620

Zippy 6600P

Ocz GameXtreme 700w

[HaloAddict19]

Originally Posted by Mr.Ferrari I'll tell you right now, realistically that psu wont be enough for two x1900's in xfire in the long run. Especially with ocing.

If you think the 600w isn't enough (which it might not) the 700w flavor is also available on newegg for $150, should be plenty to power crossfire x1900's.

The OCZ does look nice too, few more amps on 12v than the FSP, not sure about effiency. EDIT: Listed as 80%, not on product page but on PSU search page. FSP is >85%.

Also if the 600w FSP isn't enough for the rig how do you expect the Zippy 6600P to power it?

[vaboz]

Thanks for the Suggestions Mr. Ferrari! Sorry about not putting in the buget/noiselevel answer in there. Honestly I think the buget is a little flexable (if he does not have quite enough money he would just wait 1-2 weeks to order).

Which one of those four powersupplies would make the least noise?

Also anyone have any recomendations for a cpu cooler if he did decide to overclock?

Thanks again!

[Mr.Ferrari]

The OCZ does look nice too, few more amps on 12v than the FSP, not sure about effiency.

Um buddy the OCZ is the FSP.

BOTH are the same units. Just rebadged. I would pick the OCZ anyday over the FSP simply due to the better warranty.


@Vaboz

My favorite would definately be the Silverstone. If its stretching your budget I have another place where you can get it for MUCH cheaper. If that is you dont mind ordering from newegg. Another quiet one would be the CORSAIR.

And about cpu cooler. I suggest the Thermalright Ultra 120. Or the Sunbeam Tuniq Tower.

[HaloAddict19]

Originally Posted by Mr.Ferrari Um buddy the OCZ is the FSP. BOTH are the same units. Just rebadged. I would pick the OCZ anyday over the FSP simply due to the better warranty.

I was thinking the same thing, they look almost identical in appearance, but then why would effiency and amperage be different on the two units?

[Mr.Ferrari]

Good point. Its a common practice with powersupply manufacturers such as OCZ who dont really make their own psu's. You will see the specs being manipulated to make the powersupply look better.

The truthful specs are on the original FSP. That much im sure.

[vaboz]

Ok, my friend and I successfully got this computer up and running without any problems untill today.

The computer is still at stock speeds, and the cpu temp is perfectly fine but the motherboard temp goes from 30c --> 45-50c

even if we just go to hardware moniter in bios and let it sit for 10 minuets it gets really warm...

are these motherboard temperatures ok??? they seem quite a bit high for idle.


thanks!

[Cricket]

Is the computer stable or are you having stability problems?

If the computer is stable then it's not really overheating.

Don't obsess about the temps...just enjoy using the computer.

Cricket

[flanzig1]

check to make sure case fans are blowing in the right direction.
Rear and top case fans: exhaust
Side and front case fans: intake

[vaboz]

All tte fans are blowing hte correct direction, and it is fairly stable, sometimes it will restart itseft when mb temp is perty high. Other than that it is stable. My friend is worried because he was planning on overclocking the computer and the high motherboard temperatures are conserning.

Any ideas? i have tried calling asus for him but all i get is "please wait on the line" then after waiting for an eternity some guy gets on and takes name and number and promisses that someone will call me back....but they never do... so no help from asus.

[newbuilder14]

Please do not turn out like me (lol Cricket) and spend all day stressing about the temperatures. Your temperatures are more than likely fine. You are right, if it overheats it will take care of itself. Just make sure you have your fans on 100%, and you have 2 fans, intake and exhaust, and you are fine.

I THINK your motherboard sensor is probably talking about your Northbridge chipset which is okay to get warm. Honestly, my motherboard temperature is 28c so I don't know.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by vaboz All tte fans are blowing hte correct direction,

Please elaborate...how many case fans are installed, where are they installed and which direction is the air flowing from each of the fans (into or out of the case)?

Cricket

[newbuilder14]

Even cleaning up my wiring and adding a different fan dropped my motherboards temps by almost 10c.

[vaboz]

There is a Zalman 9500 blowing directly into the exhaust fan in the back of the case, there is one intake fan in the front of the case. Also the x1900xt blows hot air directly out the back of the case (not inside the case). The wires are very well managed and out of they way.

[newbuilder14]

I would just assume that your motherboard is running hot due to the chipset and CPU heat... if it is stable then I personally wouldn't worry about it.

[vaboz]

if you dont really care about the non techincal details you can skip this paragraph and move to the next one. Ok to give you a summary of what happened since the last post. My friend decided he was overall very disapointed with the computer... not exactually sure why because it runs everything great just a wierd heat issue. Anyway we worked out a deal to trade computer and i pay him some cash for the overal price difference. (i traded him the fx60 system in my sig and i got this new system).

We pulled everying out of his case and put it in mine and vise versa. Both posted and ran smooth. This was yesterday afternoon. I installed sofware and games for about an hour then turned off and ate dinner. After dinner turned computer back on and played games for about 4 hours and then watched a dvd on the system (thus the system seemed VERY stable dispite the high motherboard temp).

This morning the system will not post. WHen i turn it on the cpu fan spins very loudly but does not stop spinning at full speed (normally it spins at full speed for like 3-5 seconds then slows down).

No post screen and i have no idea what in the world to do....

very frusterated... any ideas would be welcome...

[flanzig1]

If the Zalman CPU heatsink is exhausting the air directly out the case, there probably isn't enough air flow to cool the chipset heatsinks.

[vaboz]

ok... do you think there was any damage to the processor?

What do you advise i do?

I do have the orginal heatsink, should i just use that and ditch the zalman for now?

(my friend desided to go with a Zalman like i had (even after i said the othe recomendations).. i already know the zalman is not the best choice, but i assumed it was better than the stock cooler....)

should i go ahead and take off the zalman and install the stock cooler (even still has orginal thermal pad) and give that a go and see if it works???

Thanks in advance!

[newbuilder14]

Try a different CPU cooler with new thermal compound.

[vaboz]

ok installed stock intell cooler and still no luck... exact same responce.... anyone have any ideas?? do you think the high heat from the motherboard might have indicated it was dying??

PLEASE... i am getting desperate.... i felt guilty about my friend not being happy with his system now i have to deal with the system and its stressing me out...

thanks again guys... any other ideas would be wonderfull!!!

Thanks!

[glc]

What power supply did you wind up getting?

[vaboz]

The silversone 750w "Zeus" model

http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16817256006

here is the list of the other componets:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 Conroe
ASUS P5W DH DELUXE/WIFI-APlicy
SILVERSTONE SST-ST75ZF ATX 12V 2.2 & EPS 12V 750W Power Supply
CORSAIR XMS2 DOMINATOR 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
LITE-ON 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Black- Retail
LITE-ON Black ATAPI/E-IDE DVD-ROM - Retail
Saphire ATI Radeon x1900xt 512mb

Also, the all the fans work, the dvd rom drives both can open and close, the video card definately blowing out air....

please any more suggestions?

[newbuilder14]

Originally Posted by vaboz Also, the all the fans work, the dvd rom drives both can open and close, the video card definately blowing out air....

So it isn't shutting down after 3-5 seconds?

[vaboz]

No it is not shutting down unless i hold the power button down.

my case does not have a case speaker so i had to borrow one and i hooked it up and there were no beeps. Then i pulled out all my ram and then fired the computer back up and got a continuous pattern of one long, 2 short, which i think means ram is missing. So then i pugged the ram back in and no beep codes anymore....


So..... what does that mean if my motherboard suddenly stopped posting but does not give any beep codes????

any ideas?