New Computer: Advice Please
 

Ok, im making a new computer. Im already set on all the parts im getting, so please dont try to tell me "Oh, nvidia is better" or "Hah, AMD pwns intel" heres what its gonna be

P4 3.0ghz 800mhzFSB Here
512MB DDR PC3200 400mhz Here
Soyo Motherboard Here
Aspire Case Here
Ultra UV Lighting Kit Here

Now my question is, what should i do for processor fan/heatsink? It comes w/ the retail fan and heatsink, but I'd like it to run a little cooler just because. Im thinking about getting this, but im not sure if that would be worth it. Any tips for cooling? Im also getting a Sapphire Radeon 9800 Pro from a friend for $100.

Without the "Hah, AMD pwns intel" comment, just out of curiosity, why did you choose an Intel system over a AMD one?

Hands down best heatsink would be the Thermalright SLK series, they're pretty damn expensive running at around 60 bucks (no fan included). If you want the best air cooled heatsink, that's it right there. The next step up would be watercooling.

And the only problem I see about that vent for the cpu would be that it restricts a thorough airflow throughout the case. I've never tried anything like that personally, so I won't further comment.

If your truely worried about the heat inside your computer, what I did is mounted my 120mm fan's backwards (intake becomes outtake and vice versa), and set my computer with the back right up against my air conditioning vent.

If the price for the SLK is too high, I'd suggest anything full copper that has alot of fins. I personally trust ThermalTake over the rest of the competition.

Ive always used intel processors and never once had a problem, and most of my friends have amd systems and theyve all had some overheating problems, and theirs dont seem to be reliable. Im not saying intel is better, it may be worse, but its served me well and i dont see the need to stray off now:rolleyes:

ive got nothing against amd, its just a matter of my past experiences


and about thermaltake: i couldnt find any of the slk series, but i found this, it seems to look pretty good for only $30 http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...&sku=T925-1056

one other thing: ive heard the blowholes(fans on the top of the case, like the one that im buying) arent good for cooling and just disrupt the airflow in the case. anybody have experience w/ this?

Thermalright heatsink, get a nice Vantec Tornado fan and some Arctic Silver to have the best cool set-up possible. What, noise, what noise ? I can't hear a thing since my Tornado destroyed my hearing.

http://images10.newegg.com/productim...109-012-01.JPG

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...109-012&depa=0

http://images10.newegg.com/productim...999-613-03.JPG

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...999-613&depa=0

http://images10.newegg.com/productim...100-007-01.JPG

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...100-007&depa=0

Though the names sound similiar, they're two different companys. ThermalTake and ThermalRight. ThermalRight has the SLK series, and ThermalTake has some of the better low-end heatsink+fan combo's.

EDIT*

As for the top blowhole's, it completely depends on how your airflow is going to be taken care of. I have a custom window I built on my case, and I regularly do a smoke test (basically blow dense cig smoke in the intake and monitor where the smokes being blown to). I'd say as long as the air is moving across the mobo first before heading to the top of the case, you should be fine. Though if you think that it's causing problems, you can always take the fan off and plug it up with something =\.

i think thats a little over what im looking to pay for. the link i got @ tiger looks good, i think ill go with that. thank you for all the input though. any thoughts on the system in general? oh yea, and im gonna use the hard drives i have now, a seagate 200gb w/ 2mb buffer, and an old 40gb hard drive. i use the 200 for music and movies, and the 40 for windows and programs

Edit: as for the fans, im planning on having 2 80mm on the back, below the power supply, one on the side, one on the top, one on the cpu, and probably one on the front for intake. im not sure how to set them all up(intake or exhaust) any tips about that?

Basically you want fresh air to go across your mobo, heatsink, hdd's, and vid card. I've always had the same amount of intake as outtake. If anything I'd have the ones at the top and front intake, and the ones on the side and back outtake.

Also in the future you may want to invest on a sata 10k-rpm drive as your boot drive.

thanks for the tip, both of my hard drives are 7200 rpm btw, i got the 200gb for $100 a few weeks ago. i love rebates:p

browsing some other forums i found this. Seems like a great deal. Is there anything wrong w/ that?

I've heard of people using that heatsink without a fan. :) Get ya a nice fan on there and you'll be set. I'd strap a Thermaltake Volcano 9+ fan on there with a speed controller.

-Lasereth

i compromised and put a big, slow 92mm fan on my thermalright. my temps stay relatively low and the fan is really quiet.

I replaced my stock P4 heatsink with the Zalman7000 aluminum/copper heatsink.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...118-108&depa=0

It's MUCH quieter than the regular heatsink and cools very effectively. When I'm just web surfing or idling my cpu temp is around 27 C, during gaming the highest it goes is probably 43 C. Also, I chose the hybrid alumin/copper instead of the pure copper because the pure copper version is insanely heavy.

That Zalman is nice, bf's got the all-copper one. Good stuff. Is v. heavy tho.

Just a comment about the motherboard: it appears to have only 3 dimm slots. If it has the normal 865 chipset (seems to be the case), the memory works best in pairs (2 x 256, 2 x 512); thanks to "dual channel" mode, you'll get a speed boost of some 10% or more in normal conditions.

Now, with this motherboard, suppose you use two dimms, and then want to expand your memory at a later date... you'll be forced to either replace the two modules you have (in order to retain dual-channel mode), or you have to add a third module, which will make the board run in single-channel mode, negating the original speed boost.

So... perhaps another motherboard with four dimm sockets might be a better option. Or not, depending on the price. :)

im just getting a single 512 pc3200 stick at the moment, im kinda strapped for cash. once i order all the components ill have less than $10 in my bank :rolleyes: once i get some more money im gonna get another stick of that and put that in there and utilize the dual channel, and i dont ever plan on getting more than 1g of ram. thanks for the concern tho:)

Edit: and i think im gonna go w/ this fan: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...129-029&depa=0