Advice on hardware before buying (Cooling-Fan)

[omnivir]

Hello Everyone,

I've had the below build for probably 4 years now and plan to upgrade in a year or so, but we just bought a house, so I don't want to blow that much money on a full upgrade just yet. However, I would like to make some adjustments to address the heat that the system produces while trying to keep noise down if possible. I don't really do any overclocking and just use the system to play a few games and share music and video with remote XBMC systems.

CPU: i7 CPU 920 @ 2.67GHz
MOBO: EVGA X58 SLI (E758) LGA 1366
RAM: 16GB (4x Corsair XMS3 4 GB DDR3-1333 DDR3 SDRAM)
GPU1-2 (SLI): 2x EVGA GeForce GTX 460 Superclocked 768 MB
HDD1-2 (No Raid): Western Digital 320GB 7200 RPM
HDD3-6 (Raid 5): Seagate Barracuda 1.5TB 7200 RPM
CASE: A really old Alienware that I've upgraded all original hardware from since I bought the system some 10+ years ago. I'm talking pre-Dell timeframe when Doom just came back.

My first thought was to look into a water cooling solution, which does have the "cool" factor, but don't want to spend more than needed to solve the problem. Thinking about it more, I assume that maybe a better case with properly placed fans and an upgraded CPU fan would allow better airflow overall and maybe reduce the heat. What do you guys think about the below options? The VGA Cooler is a maybe since I bought one for an older Radeon card and it made a noticeable difference. I'm not locked to any of these, so please make additional suggestions if you have any.

==== CASE
$149 - COOLER MASTER CM Storm Series Trooper (SGC-5000-KKN1)
$145 - AZZA Hurrican 2000 CSAZ-2000
$120 - Rosewill THOR V2

==== CPU FAN
$78 - Noctua NH-D14 (20dB)
$24 - COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus (32 dB)
$60 - ZALMAN CNPS9500A-LED (28 dB) with ZALMAN ZM-CS4A mount kit

==== VGA Cooler
$75 - ARCTIC Accelero Xtreme III VGA Cooler

I think I'm leaning towards the Cooler Master case with the Noctua CPU fan and maybe the VGA Cooler later in time if it's needed. I'm really curious what you guys think though. Thank you for your time and assistance!

 

[DarrenP]

You will have issues with the Arctic Accelero and SLI, as the cooler i believe takes up 2.5 Slots unless there's 3 lanes between the cards.

What were you thinking of doing for a CPU cooler? I can tell you right now the Thor V-2 white is a great case, but it will not fit an H100I and most motherboards. I just read the bottom and if you're leaning towards the Noctua, You're going to want to look at the height of your RAM first. As it's a large CPU Cooler. I believe the XMS sticks will fit, it's just a matter of being sure before you buy!

Also for cases i'd rule out the Rosewill case, Maybe you could look at the AZZA Genisis 9000. Here's a review:

Hope i've helped.

 

[Darknecron]

Noctua NH-D14, hands down. Just make sure that your mobo is compatible via their website.

Also, just a note that AZZA Hurrican case's fans run at low RPM. If they didn't, it would probably be the best case on the planet cooling-wise.

 

[DarrenP]

Who uses stock case fans anyway? I don't know about you, but i've been in the computer building scene for about 6-8 months now, and i have like 10-15 various fans... xD

 

[Knufire]

Who uses stock case fans anyway? I don't know about you, but i've been in the computer building scene for about 6-8 months now, and i have like 10-15 various fans... xD

You also consistently spend way more money then you need to and buy things whenever you have a reason to.
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There are some small things you can do, I'd try to sell your 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3-1333 set for a 12GB (3x4GB) DDR3-1600 set. Reason being that X58 is a triple channel platform, optimal performance is when you have 3 or 6 sticks of RAM. Second is that RAM speed does play a factor in overclocking, and 1333MHz RAM can limit your OC or force you to run your RAM really slow (1200MHz ish) just based on the multipliers available.

Second, while your GPUs have fairly good horsepower, you'll be limited on vRAM for games. Most games right now want at least a 2GB card for 1080P. If you sell both your GPUs, I think you could get ~$150 or so out of them, and maybe spend an extra $100 for a GTX760.

CPU cooler wise, I'd go with this over the NH-D14 at new prices. You can often find used NH-D14's for under $60 though. This is also a good option if you want to go the water cooling route. I believe it cools slightly better than the two air heatsinks but it's not as reliable. If you get one that works though, you're good. There's no reason not to overclock with the cooler upgrade, you could take that CPU to 4GHz. That extra 1.33GHz bump is what makes that CPU still viable for heavyweight modern games.

Adding a SSD would help tremendously too. Just a small one (128GB) for Windows and your most used programs. It definitely makes the system "feel" way faster.

Case wise, there are many great options under the $100 mark. This is a great deal with the current sale: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197

I know I listed a lot more things than you probably want to spend right now, but you can use this list as a future reference. This rig is not something that would need a total replacement, but a series of smaller upgrades could turn it into something that could handle anything out today.

 

[omnivir]

Maybe you could look at the AZZA Genisis 9000.

That is a beast of a case! When I do a full upgrade on my system in a year or so I'll probably spring for something like that one.

Just make sure that your mobo is compatible via their website.

Thanks for the tip to check their site. I did just that and, from what I can tell, EVGA X58 would be compatibly, but only vertical with the hearsink rotated 180°, so I may use this as a backup just incase another one has some issues.

Who uses stock case fans anyway?

This idiotic fool who operates for years with the, "It's working, so why worry about it for now" mentality. =/ Yeah, I know, stupid me for that. I should have taken better care of my hardware from day 1.

There are some small things you can do, I'd try to sell your 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3-1333 set for a 12GB (3x4GB) DDR3-1600 set. Reason being that X58 is a triple channel platform, optimal performance is when you have 3 or 6 sticks of RAM.

I'll look into how much it would cost to upgrade the memory since what you said makes sense. However, at least for now, would it be advantageous to remove one of the memory modules and make sure they're in the proper DIMM slots? I originally bought 16GB for my Master's thesis project, which used a lot of different VMs. I honestly don't really have a need for that much memory anymore.

The URL you povided for the second cooler was a duplicate URL for the first one. The first looks pretty nice, but now I'm curious what the second one is. lol

The SSD makes sense as well. I've always wanted one since they first arrived on the scene, but have been hesitant due to the death rate some of them used to have. I haven't heard of such issues within the last year though, so maybe it's almost time to take the leap of faith.

Depending on how things play out with this current small upgrade I may hold off a little longer for a complete upgrade. When I mentioned that I do use the computer to play some games it's nothing really demanding. Most of my game time is spent on Star Wars: The Old Republic and Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. Every now and then I'll load Civilizaion V or Starcraft 2, neither of which I do online play with. So I'm not sure if I need something really beastly since I'm not one to always pickup the latest and greatest out there.

Thanks a lot for all the helpful advice so far! Given the new input I'm leaning towards the Phanteks PH-TC14PE and COOLER MASTER HAF 922 mentioned by Knufire, but I need to do some additional research on each before any final decisions are made.

 

[DarrenP]

When you do a complete upgrade, the things i would keep are your RAM, CPU, Motherboard, and Drives. Those parts are just fine. So that means all your really looking at is a Case, SSD, GPU(s). Maybe 1-2 years from now i'd upgrade the CPU and Motherboard. Otherwise your good to go! I think at least.

 

[Knufire]

If your RAM usage never goes above 12GB, then removing a stick should increase RAM bandwidth.

Sorry about the duplicate link, the second one was supposed to link to a Corsair H80i.

 

[omnivir]

I went ahead and ordered the PHANTEKS PH-TC14PE CPU Cooler and Cooler Master HAF 922 case. I looked at the Corsair H80i before doing so and it looks like a good entry level water cooling solution without having to spring for a kit. The main thing that turned me away from it was that Newegg listed it as 35dBA, which is a bit much for me if I can help it. I plan to hold onto the packaging for the Phantek cooler and if it doesn't cool as much as I would like I'll probably return it and buy the H80i.

Thanks again for all the very useful help!

-Omni

 

[Conumdrum]

Omnivir, we review it on our front page and compare to other coolers. We laugh at what Newegg reviews and scorn 90% of what the manufacture says.

Newegg is not a place to become informed, it's a place to buy stuff.

 

[doyll]

@omnibit,
TC14PE will cool as well as H80i and you don't have to worry about the pump failing.

CLC systems are cheaply built to give people who don't know any better and think water cooling is better a cheap way to have H2O cooling.. Key word is CHEAP. These CLC have pumps that are just barely enough flow / powerful enough to move enough coolant to keep things cool.. compared to custom H2O pumps moving more than needed.. Radiators are plastic and aluminum while custom H2O are copper and brass

 

[DarrenP]

^ I disagree. I'm slightly biased though. My H100I preforms phenomenally. Especially for the price. Rarely do AIO systems leak also. The pumps rarely break, and if they do. There is a warranty for that. He can choose whichever cooling solution he likes, but do not bad talk one if it could easily work for him.

To your buying the Phanteks cooler: You made a great decision, wonderful cooler. I'm going to be picking one up on Friday and giving it a go. Congrats on the decision!

-Darren

 

[lopgok]

This will only help a bit, but if you have an efficient power supply, it will reduce the system heat. For example, going from a 80+ to a 80+ platinum, if you are using 500w, will save you 50 watts of heat. Every little bit helps. I personally got a rosewill fortress platinum power supply when it was on sale...