New Build... What did I forget?

CRUCIAL TECHNOLOGY BL2KIT12864AL1065 2GB PC2-8500 (DDR2-1066) DDR2

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 Stepping Kentsfield 2.40GHz 8MB L2 LGA 775 Processor Retail BX80562Q6600 SLACR

EVGA nForce 680i SLI Socket 775 1333MHz DDR2-800 ATX Motherboard Retail

Western Digital Raptor WD1500AHFD 150GB Serial ATA 10,000RPM Hard Drive w/16MB Buffer

OCZ OCZ850GXSSLI GameXStream 850W Active PFC Power Supply Retail

EN8800GTX 768MB HTDP PCIE DUAL DVI GFORCE x2

Thermaltake Armor LCS VE2000SWA Aluminum Full Tower Case w/Liquid Cooling System (Silver) Retail

I know I don't have a DVD rw yet but I'm still looking for a PX-716ALSW if anyone knows where to find one. So for now I'll just pull one from my old rig. I'm planning on getting the Bigwater 760i when it comes to the US to cool my GPU's with the TMG VGA kit.

I didn't plan on cooling off my ram but I'd consider it if there is a decent speed gain in overclocking it.

Any input would be much welcome.

You forgot to forget about Thermaltake water cooling kits! If you are interested in water cooling the CPU, I would suggest the Swiftech H20-120 Compact if you are looking for something simple, or just build a custom loop. As for the GPU, Thermalright makes excellent air solutions or you can stick the GPU in the custom loop as well.

ancalime said:

You forgot to forget about Thermaltake water cooling kits!

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Nope This case has a dual 120 rad with fans, tubing, resevoir, pump, CPU waterblock, and antifreeze. Only thing I'll need to cool my CPU is the water.

Edit: I'm working on cooling the GPU's but I can't find the Bigwater 760i kits.

Here's a link to check out the case in detail.... http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/product/Chassis/fulltower/armor_lcs/ve2000swa.asp

For just a little bit more money, you can get a much more beefy and reliable water cooling solution than the pre assembled rubbish in that Thermaltake case. I suggest buying the Armor and building a custom loop. You can get a lot of help doing that in the water cooling section.


Thermaltake water solutions should not be considered. They are made up of poor quality parts designed to lure unwary customers. Not to mention, Thermaltake also mixes aluminum with copper, and two different metals in a loop equates to unwanted corrosion. Companies such as Swiftech and DangerDen have much better water cooling offers.

If you want a kit, which I don't recommend at all, you should definitely get something by Swiftech. I still recommend you build your own loop with custom components.

I know the weakness of this particular waterblock. I actually bought this setup because the price was absurdly cheap and the reviews on the case+ were great. Aparently Thermaltake is trying to pull themselves out of the gutter. I'd gladly setup my own custom loop if anyone here were willing to pay for it. I just couldn't pass up the dual rad & fans installed for $100. Bonus I get some tubing, pump etc. Sure this stuff isn't the best but I already checked the specs on other rads and they wouldn't fit up front with the dual LED fans, without severe modding. I know the weakness of this waterblock and am not too thrilled about it but it will do for now until I get a new one. *crosses fingers* I hope.

My question wasn't, "Is my rig the best?" I just wanted to know if I forgot something. My dad isn't rich so I'm building this myself. I don't want to get into some sort of debate on what is best because there's too many opinions out there. I'm on a budget here. I have 2 kids and an x-wife to support plus student loans plus normal bills. I can't afford a juvenile p1$$!ng contest, I'll lose.

Blec... With that out of the way. I guess I have a new question. Should I just junk this waterblock out of the box? I planned to upgrade to the Swiftech APOGEE GTX Extreme . Is the Thermaltake waterblock in my kit so prone to leakage that I should just order the Apogee now?

Thanks,
Bill

Edit: The Apogee GTX is the best waterblock for the Q6600 correct?

ancalime said:

As for the GPU, Thermalright makes excellent air solutions or you can stick the GPU in the custom loop as well.

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Thanks I'm looking for affordable solutions for my GPU's. I plan to run a seperate loop for them since I have room in the case.

Edit: It seems Thermaltake is prone to bashing so I'll duck after mentioning the TMG VGA kit. It had great performance reviews. Is there a reason to avoid it?

Cheers,
Bill

I am not into water so I'll leave that discussion to the pros, but from what I have heard Petra's has some pretty good kits.

As far as what your missing, the first thing that comes to ming is an OS. Do you have a quality KB and mouse? How about your monitor? I have learned not to cheap out on those. No point in spending a bunch of money on a system and have crappy components to use it with.

Im gonna through in my 2 cents and just let you know from personal experience you can get better cooling from AIR then you can on water from that case, but good luck to you sir.

ou_phidelt said:

I am not into water so I'll leave that discussion to the pros, but from what I have heard Petra's has some pretty good kits.

As far as what your missing, the first thing that comes to ming is an OS. Do you have a quality KB and mouse? How about your monitor? I have learned not to cheap out on those. No point in spending a bunch of money on a system and have crappy components to use it with.

Click to expand...

Thanks,

Yep I went with a full Vista Ultimate licence. I'll be doing tons of renders and particle systems so I'll need all the ram access I can get. On the mouse I went with the Logitech G7. The keyboard I chose was the Ideazon Merc which I found cheapest at Wallyworld of all places. The monitor I'm still hung up on a bit. I don't want to go LCD they just can't compete with a good flat screen shadow mask crt. I haven't decided on a model yet. I need the color for doing textures and for gaming there isn't really any way I'm going LCD anyway. But so far I'm not very happy with my selections until I hit around $1,500. IMHO that's too much... or maybe I'm being too picky.

To be honest with that rig I would get a better power supply. Go with a Corsair or PC Power + Cooling. Oh and 850w is overkill for that system. A good 650w would be fine.

killerkid said:

Im gonna through in my 2 cents and just let you know from personal experience you can get better cooling from AIR then you can on water from that case, but good luck to you sir.

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Ok fill me in please I hate mysteries.

ps2cho said:

To be honest with that rig I would get a better power supply. Go with a Corsair or PC Power + Cooling. Oh and 850w is overkill for that system. A good 650w would be fine.

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Yup I hit the power supply with a big stick. I'm not done with the system yet. I'm going to add another raptor in raid as the budget allows and a seperate 80GB Maxtor for dual boot to XP. I was a bit suspect of the power supply myself but for an 850w the price was a compromise I went with. I know it's not bulletproof but I need a high end DX10 machine now. If I need to I can upgrade parts as they break. I hate to say that but $3500 was the top end of my budget and I just hit that when I ordered my VIEWSONIC, G225FB monitor. If it was a straight gaming rig I could have gone for a cheaper LCD for now but I couldn't compromise on color.

Thanks guys for all the tough love. I do appreciate it though it may not always show. I figured I'd just throw this together since I couldn't get my Sager NP9260 with 8800m's till January and WOW what an experience. I've learned tons in the last two weeks. I went with water cooling because I didn't even think air would come close and found out I could do it with air and some trickery. Every compromise I've made you have jumped on and challenged me. Thanks! Just proves I came to the right place for advice. Ha now I just checked up on the NP9260 and it doesn't look like I'll be getting SLI 8800m's at all. So now I'm double glad I decided to build this on the same budget. Now I need to wait for a mobile solution to the DX10 beta testing blues longer than I thought.

Cheers
Bill