New Gaming Rig! A couple of questions..

Hey everyone I'm new here, at least at posting. Decided it was time to give these forums a shot as they have helped me much in the past!

So anyways, I am currently running a Athlon 64 3700+ (OC'ed to 2.8 Ghz), MSI 7800GTX 256mb, 1.5GB PC3200 DDR, Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum EX (which I've had for 4 years), all in a CoolerMaster Centurion 5 Chassis. Hey when I built it 2 years ago this thing flew!
I'm running this on a 22" HP w2207 and Logitech Z-2300 Speakers.

Here's the specs on my new rig coming in:

-CPU: Core 2 Quad Q6600 / G0 stepping
-Mobo: ASUS Maximus Formula
-Gfx: MSI 8800GTS 640mb (stock OC'ed)
-Memory: 4GB G.Skill DDR2 PC6400
-Chassis: Antec P182

needless to say it's a big upgrade and I'm pretty excited! Here's where my questions come in though.

Firstly, I have done some research and not come up with a straight answer, so i'll ask it here. I know I can OC the Q6600 to a good degree with good chassis airflow and stock HSF. However I want to OC to at least 3.0ghz on better than stock air cooling to keep my chip healthy :B. At the same time, I don't want the air cooling to make an excessive amount of noise (a little I don't mind). What would be the best solution for me in terms of air cooling (that won't cost more than $100, but the cheaper the better!).

Second, I plan on carrying over my old Sound Blaster Audigy 1 Platinum Ex again (this will be the 3rd system I use it in). The card, to me, still sounds awesome and the external box it came with allows me to easily hook up RCA cables, optical and so on. By upgrading to a new card, based on it's specs, would I get a considerable boost in performance for my new system, and would the sound output be considerably better?

Thanks for reading and look forward to your replies.

P.S. Anyone had any experience with my new chassis? any thoughts on it? seemed like a good pick to me.

And one more question I forgot!

Will a 500W power supply suffice to power this system?

What brand 500W.

Looks like you got a good setup going there, couple things id modify and a few i will make suggestions on. First id like to see you post up the model # of the Gskill ram your lookin at, as timings are especially important in ram selection, as well as overclockability since thats what your doing. The Q6600 is a quad core CPU so i can tell you right now you are not going to achieve all that in the way of overclocking on the retail heatsink, as they run particularly hot, the sound options are questionable, as they have been putting some really nice sound chips on motherboards as of late, however thats really for your ears to decide. Big thing here, as far as the graphics card is concerned, next month will give birth to a whole new lineup of graphics cards from nvidia and ATI, so i would not be hasty about purchasing, the 8800 GTS is a good card, but the 8800GT about to be released next month, is about to blow everything away. As it will run at 8800GTX speeds for nearly half the price.

Air cooling, you have a wide range of choices and i could spend an hour posting all my performance charts giving you comparisons. Flat out, Ultra 120 Extreme with any 120mm fan you can think of will work the best.

As far as a PSU goes, 500watt is probably a bit small for your setup, and personally i would feel most uncomfortable with it. I generally dont like to load up PSU's to full capacity, so i would personally recommend a 600-650 watt PSU for your setup.

Wide variety of options in going with intel, id be happy to post some brands/models.

the ultra 120 extreme with some yate loons on it would be the best bet and for the supply go for the corsair hx620 one of the best supplys for the money or the pc power and cooling 750 if you wana spend a little more and give the cooler master cm690 a look for a case it is the best case for 50 bucks around and sli certified fits 7 120's in there lots of air flow

Hey guys, thanks for the replies.

Firstly about the sound options, supposedly my mobo (maximus formula) brings a pretty good sound solution on it, though how good exactly I don't know? I'll give it a test run when I build the system for sure. see if it beats my Audigy Platinum EX.

The G.Skill ram I ordered has 4-4-3-5 timing, and is supposedly a pretty good overclocker. Here's the link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231114

As for the video card, I didn't know the GT would outperform the GTS so much and that it was coming out so soon! It's too late now as i've already ordered my parts . Any benchmark comparisons you can show me between the GT and the GTS 640MB just out of curiosity?

Power supply.. yeah my current one is actually 400W not 500.. lol. looks like I will have to throw down a few more bucks for a new PSU as well. I'm thinkin 700W just to be safe then?

And finally about the fan... yeah I have heard good things about the Ultra 120 extreme, and I think you guys just convinced me to go on and get it! Thanks .

I have been considering water cooling as well, if there is a good, simple solution I can use with the q6600. I have until friday to get it, that's when my chip comes in, so any suggestions are recommended!

Mezzanine510 said:

I have been considering water cooling as well, if there is a good, simple solution I can use with the q6600. I have until friday to get it, that's when my chip comes in, so any suggestions are recommended!

Click to expand...

http://www.jab-tech.com/Swiftech-H20-120-Compact-CPU-Liquid-cooling-Kit-pr-3862.html

Mezzanine510 said:

Hey guys, thanks for the replies.

Firstly about the sound options, supposedly my mobo (maximus formula) brings a pretty good sound solution on it, though how good exactly I don't know? I'll give it a test run when I build the system for sure. see if it beats my Audigy Platinum EX.

The G.Skill ram I ordered has 4-4-3-5 timing, and is supposedly a pretty good overclocker. Here's the link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231114

As for the video card, I didn't know the GT would outperform the GTS so much and that it was coming out so soon! It's too late now as i've already ordered my parts . Any benchmark comparisons you can show me between the GT and the GTS 640MB just out of curiosity?

Power supply.. yeah my current one is actually 400W not 500.. lol. looks like I will have to throw down a few more bucks for a new PSU as well. I'm thinkin 700W just to be safe then?

And finally about the fan... yeah I have heard good things about the Ultra 120 extreme, and I think you guys just convinced me to go on and get it! Thanks .

Click to expand...

As far as the graphics card

8800GT reviews
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=163160

ATI 3xxx series revealed
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=162985

if you need help with psu selection just let me know

You could've gotten a mobo that's just as good and much cheaper then spent the extra on an 8800GTX and saved some for the Q9450 that's coming out in january.

Thank you man I really appreciate your responses!

I actually do need help with my power supply problem. What would be a good model to buy in terms of bang for the buck? Something that performs well but doesn't cost an arm and a leg?

As for liquid cooling I'm reading the article you linked right now.. will respond soon.

What Brand PSU, Just make sure it's not a cheapo,


I'd get a CorsairHX620/TX750

is 620 enough if I am planning on possibly using Crossfire some time in the future?

and also, got any suggestions for similar performance as the Corsairs for cheaper? Those are a bit on the high side.

best bang for the buck options

XCLIO GREATPOWER X14S4P4 700W ATX12V 700W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817189009

ULTRA X3 600W Energy Efficient Modular ULT40073
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10006089

CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139002

Thermaltake / ToughPower / 700-Watt
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2212308&CatId=2533

im a real real big fan of thermaltake toughpower and ultra x3 PSU's, let me get you some performance #'s on that watercooling kit also

Mezzanine510 said:

is 620 enough if I am planning on possibly using Crossfire some time in the future?

Click to expand...

depends strictly on which cards you use, mid range cards probably wont consume all that much power, however XT's or somthing similar will really just overdo it. Im using an 800 watt Ultra X3 in my new rig for a crossfire setup

here you are, read through this you will like the results posted

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=154723&highlight=Swiftech+Compact

went for this PSU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171023

seems like most people are more than satisfied with it.

ALSO: I went ahead and got the Ultra 120 Extreme for my CPU. Water cooling was looking too expensive for good quality, and so far with everything I already dropped 1500 into this system (maybe 1400 after rebates ).

Mezzanine510 said:

went for this PSU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171023

seems like most people are more than satisfied with it.

Click to expand...

okaaayyyyy...impulse buyer i see, not worth explaining why that was a poor choice lol but lets go with the newegg reviews first right?

I checked some google reviews as well, seems like it's a pretty good quality PSU, and I'm sort of on the budget at this point. But if you can tell me why, I will gladly listen to why it's not a good PSU. I still have time to switch up my order :X.