newb questions (sorry)

hey guys,
I've never been too into O/Cing my system, but now that I don't have my car to toy around with, I figured I would try to learn some cpu stuff.
I have a question though, which cpu fan do you think is the best? I currently have a volcano 9 and it cools ok (50 degrees full load). I've searched quite a bit, but haven't found anything out.
My second question is, are THERMALTAKE XASER III cases any good? Also, which power supply would you recommend I go with?

Thanks a bunch, and sorry about the questions you guys have probably heard a million times before.

read the stickies in Cases and Power Supplies, should help you decide wich PSU to go with

Give us your processor, overclocked speed, current PSU type, and anything else that might be relevant and we'll try and help you out. I've never used a Xaser III case, but I'm very happy with my Lian Li PC-60.

I have a Volcano 9 on my system, and it works fine.Tthey dont have a great rep, but I like mine. It definately needs to be lapped (lots of posts around about how to do it) I saw ~4c drop from lapping. My system runs about 44c load.
And, welcome to the forums!

Hey thanks guys.
I appreciate the help.

Restorer,
my processor is a 2500 athalon xp (barton core). Right now its at 11.5x multiplyer and 178 mhz (2061mhz total). I have a codgen case and powersupply (350w). I was on a tight budget and it was only 20 bucks, lol. I also got stuck with 512mb kingston pc3200 400mhz ram.

Barnstormer,
I'll have to look for how to lapp the volcano. And thanks for the welcome.

Welcome to the boards custom90gt I take it you had a mitsu (Or do other companies make GT named cars )?

But yes, there are a few links on how to lap a heatsink, sadly the www.overclockers.com (our 'parent') website is not working right now...nor are my arrow keys on my computer...ugh typing is frustrating..anywho here is a link that I found [URK=[URL]http://www.google.com/]Google.com[/URL[/URL]] and forum search provide you with lots of information I would give you the link to our lapping guide, but the website is down..so here is what came up good on google!

http://overclockersclub.com/guides/heatsinklappingguide.php

You may not have to use all the sandpapers they did, just remember to not start w/super fine stuff, you'll be at it for a loonnnggg time

Fold and Frag on
Brian

bubba gump said:

Welcome to the boards custom90gt I take it you had a mitsu (Or do other companies make GT named cars )?

But yes, there are a few links on how to lap a heatsink, sadly the www.overclockers.com (our 'parent') website is not working right now...nor are my arrow keys on my computer...ugh typing is frustrating..anywho here is a link that I found [URK=[URL]http://www.google.com/]Google.com[/URL[/URL]] and forum search provide you with lots of information I would give you the link to our lapping guide, but the website is down..so here is what came up good on google!

http://overclockersclub.com/guides/heatsinklappingguide.php

You may not have to use all the sandpapers they did, just remember to not start w/super fine stuff, you'll be at it for a loonnnggg time

Fold and Frag on
Brian

Click to expand...

Hey Brian,
actually I own a mustang gt...

I was looking at all the articles on lapping the heat sink. Sounds easy. I polished my entire upper intake to a mirror finish (if you guys think you had it rough with an hour of sanding, try a couple weeks). I can do it.
Do you guys think i could run a buffer on it with some white rouge? Its like equivilent to 5000 grit?

I was looking at all the articles on lapping the heat sink. Sounds easy. I polished my entire upper intake to a mirror finish (if you guys think you had it rough with an hour of sanding, try a couple weeks). I can do it.

Click to expand...

LOL! You won't have it that rough with lapping a heatsink. I took no more than half an hour shining up my heatsink (only up to 1500 grit), then realized that my Volcano 11+ wasn't completely flat. When you start lapping, you might want to start with 800 or so grit paper flat on a desk, sanding perpendicular to the machining marks. If after a while there are certain areas that still prominently show the machining lines, you might have indentations there (like me). Go back to something coarser and flatten it out, then start back up the grit numbers. I wouldn't bother going past 2000 grit: there's not that much of a difference from a perfect mirror finish. You can read about my lapping experience, in which I used whitening toothpaste with a Dremel buffing wheel to try to polish it. I'm still finding splatters around my room in odd places.

Right now its at 11.5x multiplyer and 178 mhz (2061mhz total). I have a codgen case and powersupply (350w). I was on a tight budget and it was only 20 bucks, lol. I also got stuck with 512mb kingston pc3200 400mhz ram.

Click to expand...

I bet with the right cooling you can get that 2500 up past 2.3 GHz - that's what I'm aiming for. You should use MBM5 or your BIOS to check out your power supply voltages. If they're too low or too high (compare with some posts thorughout this forum), you should consider getting something name-brand, 400W or more for overclocking. Just take a look through the topic I linked to above; it's most of my journey through overclocking and case modding for cooling purposes.

While I'm on the subject of your case... check the number of intake and exhaust fans, and the nubmer of empty holes where you could put fans. Also note the positions of the fans - for example, right behind a solid plastic bezel would be a bad place until you take out the power tools and make some room for the air to flow.

i have a thermaltake xaser iii and im happy with it, but i think im going to buy a lian li for my next case. some people have complained about the noise of the case, but its quieter than my last, and this one has 7 fans. personally ive had quite a significant drop in cpu temps (about a 7c drop) as long as you can put up with some noise, and the fact that its not as customizable as the lian li, then its a good case.

custom90gt said:

hey guys,
I've never been too into O/Cing my system, but now that I don't have my car to toy around with, I figured I would try to learn some cpu stuff.
I have a question though, which cpu fan do you think is the best? I currently have a volcano 9 and it cools ok (50 degrees full load). I've searched quite a bit, but haven't found anything out.
My second question is, are THERMALTAKE XASER III cases any good? Also, which power supply would you recommend I go with?

Thanks a bunch, and sorry about the questions you guys have probably heard a million times before.

Click to expand...

Without questions, this forum would be pretty stupid, that's why we all come here.

Well I lapped my cpu heatsink, Northbound crystal orb, and my vid card heat sink. All I can say is I'm very happy. CPU temps went from 47 degrees at full load to 42 (room temp is the same in both compairisons). Thanks guys, now I can wait for my new case/water cooling setup .

I have a Barton 2500+ on an Abit NF7-S and I am using a SLK900 with a 90mm Tornado. I also have two 80mm front intake fans, one 80mm rear exhaust fan and a top 80mm blowhole ehaust
My temperatures always read:

Idle:
System = 0-1°C over room temperature
CPU = 4-6°C over room temperature

Load:
System = 3-4°C over room temperature
CPU = 8-10°C over room temperature

This is with the CPU at stock settings. When I overclocked to 3200+ speeds the temperatures stayed the same (I think because I did not need to increase the Vcore).