Team Glasslicker Interactive Build

Good morning everyone.

Recently I grew tired of being limited by my Dell P4 540. As I developed an interest in gaming (I am a Tank Commander in a BF2 clan) and tried to learn about system improvements, there came a point when I decided that I wanted to build something in which I had some control over and was able to upgrade versus flinging former PC in the trash and starting over.

After reading a ton on this forum, much of which is over my head, I decided to purchase intermediate components and dabble in OC'ing, versus stock bleeding edge.

So, I fit a few things together in a case to continue working on design and hit a huge block. In fact , the build is sitting idle on my kitchen table. As I sat staring at my lifeless build, I had an epiphany.

I would let the experts here at OC help me build my system. I can take plenty of pictures, take a concensus of opinions as to which way the build should go or what to puchase, then execute.

If a number of you pitch in to help a lowly newb through this, you could prove to the world that your pure genius allowed you to walk a trained monkey through a build.

Finally, with some of you between builds, I thought it might give everyone a chance to have some fun.

In my next post, I'll lay out come guidelines and list my purchases thus far.

So come on, join Team Glasslicker for an interative/actual build !

General Guidelines

OK, let's lay out some guidelines.

1) I am buidling this computer as a primary gaming machine. The P 540 will remain the "house" computer, allowing my wife to continue downloading spyware every time she clicks.

2) Budget for future compenents is "mid range". I do have some disposable income but have no intentions of paying 2K for a monitor. Conversely, I have no problem discussing the differences of running dual 7800 GT's versus a single 7800GTX and will gladly pull the trigger.

3) I want a little bling but am not a huge fan of blinking lights, garrish neon, plastic for the most part, mini disco balls, dingle balls, tuck and roll, spinners on teeth, or 50's retro. I do like some of the cold cathode stuff, sleeving for cable, etc.

4) I want a clean aka (wires hidden and or sleeved) spotless build as I do have a window. No ghetto, duck tape, wires all over God's Green Earth, etc. By the same token, mounting the rad externally with no shroud wouldn't bother me a bit.

5) Mods must be for mere mortals. I am fair with DIY, but have limited tools. I do not have a CNC at my disposal, nor a 30K metal shop. I'm a drill, dremel, and huge toolbox guy.

I'd like something that looks really nice, clean, but not boring. I intend to etch the names of the team on the edge of the window, so choose build compenents wisely as your screen name will be captured on this forever should you elect to donate your thoughts, time and experience! lol

Next, let's lay out purchases thus far.

Alright, this sounds interesting, I would be willing to help. Knowing you are doing watercooling first, one question I have is what do you already have watercooled, and do you plan on adding anything to the loop? You made mention of graphics cards, so you need to add in consideration of if you do SLi, are you going to want to watercool both, or are you going to let them run on air?

Ok I'm game if you want my help, lets see some figures. Whats the budget?

So what do we have to work with ?

Let's talk about my purchases thus far. I did do some research. Some of you will agree with my decisions, while others may find some of the items tolerable at best. I don't think I purchased anything that someone would find unacceptable. Should you disagree, please bring it up so we can discuss.

CASE Silverstone TJ06 in brushed aluminum

For cases, I chose a Silverstone TJ06. It's a big case, tall really, with a window. I chose this as it has plenty of room to work in. I can easily run an internal reservoir, pump, etc. and shouldn't appear crowded.

It has a plastic wind tunnel which runs from the front of the case to the rear, with two 120MM fans driving air across CPU. Personally I intend to scrap the tunnel as I want to get this thing up and running on air, then immediately move to water. It also has an 80MM fan.

I intend to run 6 fans, 3 on rad and the three case fans. Im in Phoenix and need all the air movement I can get.



POWER OCZ Powerstream 520

Came highly recommended from many of the people on this forum. I wasn't sure exactly how much juice was required so I thought 520 min would give us a little headroom.

MOBO Asus A8N Sli Deluxe (939)

I chose this mobo as it seems to be a stable, entry level board for those new to tweaking and OC'ing, without requiring an aeronautics degree in order to trouble shoot. There is a ton of info and help available and I believe it to be an intelligent choice for a 1st time builder/OC'er.



CPU's Primary AMD Opti 165
Secondary AMD Anthon 4000+ San Diego

So why two chips ? Well, I purchased the 4000+ San Diego after reading that it was a pretty good single core gaming chip, midrange in price. Again many people have worked with the chip and a ton of info is available.

After the purchase, I became smitten with the thought of toying with an Opti 165 DC. I decided that it would be fun to play with it versus a boring old single core.

So, for now, the Opti gets the nod for the initial build.

RAM OCZ PC 4000 DUAL CH GOLD EDITION EX XTC 2x1G Timing 3-4-3-8

I have typically played with value ram in the past and wanted to see how the other side lives. I weighed a number of recommendations from people here at OC and went with the OCZ.




Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 250G Sata w/NCQ

I purchased this drive after reading enough about hard drives to make my head hurt. The access times in tests appeared to be pretty fast. Price was reasonable.

This is an OEM from New Egg. I am considering purchasing a second one as they are running just over 100.00 right now although I am on the fence. I am hoping you can help me decide.

I never developed moist panties over the 10K screamers. Noisy things and I am not sure (for my needs) that I am hurting the machine running the Seagate(s). Feel free to tell my I'm an idiot here, if you like.



Black Ice Extreme III triple rad with 3 Panaflo FBA 12G12U 120MM fans (1/2 inch barbs.





I want to water cool. I'm going to water cool. I know I don't have to watercool but I want to see if I can without frying everything I own.
I guess that this is my bling factor. CPU, GPU, NB, Ram, HD......Let's have some fun here.

I am having a horrible time deciding how to design the water cooling system. I believe it's important to figure it out prior to the initial build in order to avoid extra work down the road.

Six Switch Fan controller

Three position to drive the three case fans and 3 rad fans. I like the idea of having switches to go "turbo". Probably not necessary but I like the idea.

Maybe you meant the Silverstone TJ06?

Midnight Dream said:

Alright, this sounds interesting, I would be willing to help. Knowing you are doing watercooling first, one question I have is what do you already have watercooled, and do you plan on adding anything to the loop? You made mention of graphics cards, so you need to add in consideration of if you do SLi, are you going to want to watercool both, or are you going to let them run on air?

Click to expand...

First, I may be misunderstanding you, but this a brand new build. All items are shiney and just out of the box. Nothing is cooled yet. My only firm decision is to watercool. How we do it is entirely up to the team.

For watercooling, I'd like to at least go with CPU,GPU, and NB. I am strongly considering Ram and HD, although I'm not convinced that RAM and HD are absolutely necessary. Finally, if it's not necessary, that doesn't mean we shouldn't do it !!!!!!!

If we the team ends up selecting 7800 GT's versus a single 7800 GTX then both must be watercooled. For God's sake man, watercooling the CPU and air cooling the VGU's is like taking a shower with your rain coat on. Let's live dangerously ! lol

Your specs look very solid, as for your WC I would recommend the following:
CPU: Swiftech Storm (should be coming back to inventory shortly)
GPU: Either the Swift MCW55 or the DD Maze 4 depending on what you prefer as they Both perform roughly the same
Pump: MCP655 or the DD D5 pump, same pump if I'm not mistaking
Rad: Thermochill 120.3 if you can afford it if not a Black Ice Pro III for lower CFM fans and Extreme III for high CFM fans.

Anyone disagrees with me?

Flip-Mode said:

Ok I'm game if you want my help, lets see some figures. Whats the budget?

Click to expand...

I hate to put a budget on it although I can get everyone close. I hesitate to draw a line in the sand and say 300.00 tops for VGU (as an example) if we find a really good answer at 340.00.

Thus far, If you review the components listed, you can see that I don't mind spending based on value at any price range.

As an example, I cant afford running dual 7800 GTX 512's but had no problem shelling out for some quality ram.

Instead of limiting the team, I'd prefer to discuss a value purchase and intermediate then decide together.

I have many of the big purchases knocked out with the exception of watercooling components, VGU(s), and a monitor.

Midnight Dream said:

Maybe you meant the Silverstone TJ06?

Click to expand...

Yes sir, my apologies, but it's in SILVER.

Also note that window is on the right side of case which makes it interesting as mobo is upside down when installed.

I didn't notice you didn't have a video card, get the ATI X1900. Reviews have it kicking the 7800GTX in the buttocks especially in FEAR.

Flip-Mode said:

Your specs look very solid, as for your WC I would recommend the following:
CPU: Swiftech Storm (should be coming back to inventory shortly)
GPU: Either the Swift MCW55 or the DD Maze 4 depending on what you prefer as they Both perform roughly the same
Pump: MCP655 or the DD D5 pump, same pump if I'm not mistaking
Rad: Thermochill 120.3 if you can afford it if not a Black Ice Pro III for lower CFM fans and Extreme III for high CFM fans.

Anyone disagrees with me?

Click to expand...

Sorry Black Ice Extreme III is already purchased and here. Sounds like I screwed up though by purchasing three 120MM Panaflo FBA12G12U .65 amps. I think these are low flow. I would be happy to replace them with a better choice if the Team supports.

Based on my limited knowledge, your compenent suggestions for WC ing Pump, blocks, etc, look excellent. Let's what others come up with and we'll finalize and order.

glasslicker said:

Sorry Black Ice Extreme III is already purchased and here. Sounds like I screwed up though by purchasing three 120MM Panaflo FBA12G12U .65 amps. I think these are low flow. I would be happy to replace them with a better choice if the Team supports.

Based on my limited knowledge, your scompenent suggestions for WC ing Pump, blocks, etc, look excellent. Let's what others come up with and we'll finalize and order.

Click to expand...

Wait before throwing the Panaflows out, if the temps are good keep them.
Also if you want to do something different you could look for the Silverprop GPU block from here: http://www.petrastechshop.com/sicyfu.html.

This is becoming interesting. I will have to come back and update myself later, I gotta get back to work @.@

Midnight Dream said:

This is becoming interesting. I will have to come back and update myself later, I gotta get back to work @.@

Click to expand...

Midnight, that's what I was hoping for.

I dont have the depth or breadth of knowledge that so many of you do. Also, I noticed that many people come on here, ask boring questions that you have all answered a million times, then run away without contributing to the forum.. While I know that so many of you dedicate your time to this, you really gain nothing from it.

I also know that while I can grind this out on my own, making many mistakes and flushing cash down the toilet, it would be far wiser for me to attempt to capitalize on the knowledge base here.

So, I had to find some way to provide something to make it interesting to avoid being one of those that just ask the same old questions.

While I am a "glasslicker", I am willing to contribute my stupidity. I do have the disposable income, a sincere willingness and commitment to do this, and an open mind. In addition, I hope to share some of my excitement with everyone on doing a quality build that we can all have some fun with and share in.

I am giddy. At 42 years I finally decided that I wanted some control over PC ing lifestyle. Like much of the world, it's far easier to go to Dell and click up a PC. I feel like I am taking back some control of my computing life, as stupid as that sounds.

Hopefully, it will help others to take the plunge !

Well, I'm taking some pictures of our compents thus far. I fit some of the components to give everyone and idea of size and scale. Not a perm mount, just wanted to see how much room we have to work with. We have all kinds of room !!!!!!!

Maybe the pictures will help stir everyones creative juices.


Again, thanks in advance to you and any others that want to help !

Team Glasslicker Mascot

Lets see the pics!

How about you throw in one of these in the mix?
http://www.frozencpu.com/scan/se=Water Cooling/se=Reservoirs/mp=menu_search.html
I do believe that with a good coolant/water ratio it will not corrode.

Horrific pictures

Here are some pictures to get us started, They are horrible. Let me assure you that it is ME and not the camera. If you want to see pictures from different angle, closer, better detail, please let me know. Here we go:


Here is the front of the case panel. Please note that I have already installed 6 fan switch panel. It can moved anywhere.




Here is the inside of case front.





This is the left side of case with radiator sitting on top for scale.




Right side of case with mobo and ps for scale.




Another view of case and mobo.

cont.

Inside front of case.



A Little different angle.



Top of case with rad for scale.

Let's make this interesting.

So you're thinking," Great ! Some two-bit hack (Glasslicker)) gets a little creative and attempts to schmooze in the hopes of getting me to help him avoid a room full of extra parts, psych scars or fried hardware. Why should I help ? What do I get out of this?"

Well you have a point, so here's what I'm going to do. Upon completion of the project and when we have it up and running, let's do the following:

Team Glasslicker MVP

The Team Glass Licker MVP will be selected through a vote by any member of Team Glasslicker that wants to vote. Voting criteria should be based on level of participation, content of posts, support of the team, and total overall value to the project. Vote for yourself (no ego maniacs here ! ) or vote for the person that you believe was irreplacable.

In the case of a tie, I will make the final decision. If it's too close to call, then I'll split it 50/50. Other than the vote, all decisions are final. This is cash out of my pocket so my only intent is to make it fair for everyone.

The winner will receive 100.00 Gift Certificate or store credit to any PC/electronics store/site that you so choose. Monarch, Tiger, New Egg, Frys, etc....any place you want. It must be a gift cert. I could Paypal you cash but then you'd spend it on liquor, women, or worse, something frivolous ! lol

Raffle.

At the completion of the project, we'll tally posts considered to have helpful information, even those of opinion as long as they are objective. For each post, you'll get a raffle ticket.

The team will figure out some way to find a fair way to draw a number. raffle numbers will be pre selected and assigned so all parties concur that it was above board.

We'll draw 2 winners. 1st place gets 50.00 and 2nd gets 25.00. Again a gift cert or store credit to any PC/Electronics store site that you choose.

SO why offer this ? Becuase I am certain that grinding this out on my own would cost me at least 175.00 in unused gear, time and trouble. Further, I want everyone to have a little fun with this.

If you are worried about a scam or potential BS artist, dont. I do not know a single person on this board. I am a 42 year old small business owner. The only thing I have is my word and I have no intention of besmirching the fine reputation of Team Glasslicker. If you need some proof, PM me and I'll send you to my company website. You can use the photo of me for your dart board.