New Build and All that is related.

[Kayva]

So currently I'm waiting for my tax return to come in but that doesn't mean I can't start doing stuff.. This build will break down into 2 parts. The first part I finished last night which is remove the hardware out of the case I will be using for the new build.

So being a little on the law cash side right now .... I had limited options for Casing my current unit called "Haunter" However that didn't stop me.

What do I have hiding in a closet????

Ohh is that a Old School Antec P150 Case???!?!?!

why yes it is...

First step as with any kind of work is to remove the cover and peek inside.

Inside was a old Intel Socket 478 Board with a Pentium 4 2.8ghz CPU ...

That had to go .. so out it came. Also, The Power Supply was way substandard (Antec 350w) for the transplant so that was also removed and thrown away

so now what to do... No power supply is a problem .. so How about a new Thermaltake Smart 650w???

Now the Case is set up and clean.. time to start on transfering Haunter over to her new case.

Yuk .. Dust ... Well i has been over a year since last cleaning (long story)

So now comes the long task of removing everything and installing everything into the P120 case ...

Once Done, Didn't turn out bad. (I need to handle the cable management ... which I will do later , I had to get done so I could watch Walking Dead )

So My first project is done ... now next step will be to go through the other case and Clean everything so she will be ready for new parts in a few weeks Found a bad 120mm fan on the Elysium so that will be getting replaced as well .

 

[trents]

Looks to me your case is a little challenged ventilation wise. I can see the fan in the rear panel but is there also one in the front panel? My advise would be to go with case fans as powerful as your ears can stand. And by the way, side panel fans can hurt more than they help because they can interrupt the flow of air from front down low to rear up high.

 

[Theocnoob]

Looks to me your case is a little challenged ventilation wise. I can see the fan in the rear panel but is there also one in the front panel? My advise would be to go with case fans as powerful as your ears can stand. And by the way, side panel fans can hurt more than they help because they can interrupt the flow of air from front down low to rear up high.

Nope. It's not an Antec P series as the OP suggested, it is either a first or second generation Antec Sonata. They have one rear exhaust fan and that's all she wrote. A terrible, terrible choice for that system. I strongly suggest getting that build into a case with 2 front, 1 top, 1 rear fans. Or more. That Sonata isn't going to cut it. Especially with the level of cable management that has been applied further choking the anemic air flow in the case, which comes in through slits in the front panel.

On a side note, I'm concerned about these open case pictures shot on top of a bed or a pile of clothes. I really hope the OP is not working on these systems in those conditions. You want to be at a wood table on a wood floor, if possible, when working on a PC, and you have to ground yourself.



Definitely a 1st/2nd gen Sonata. Completely obsolete case.

 

[Kayva]

The case is really all I have right now and honestly the air flow isn't bad with the 5.25 bay covers removed and door removed, all the research I did on the case came up with it being a P150 , and it's not always easy to find info on old equipment. As far as working on a bed, no it was just to take pics I was doing the work on my hardwood floor, but it was hard to get pics on the floor due to my camera on my phone. I've been building/repairing systems since 1996, so I would hope I know how to safely work on a PC. I'm a single Mom, so sometimes I have to make the best out of nothing. Why it took 5 years for me to even think about doing an upgrade.. So I'm sorry I can't run out and buy stuff whenever, to get the power supply strained my budget...

 

[Theocnoob]

So I'm sorry I can't run out and buy stuff whenever, to get the power supply strained my budget...

Those tactics will get you no where. Why would you take it personally that someone says you shouldn't be putting that hardware in that case? Those cases are designed for Pentium 4s at most with a very low TDP graphics card. They're from like 2002-2003. We're not saying "You're a failure as a human being for putting a high-perf system in a low-perf case". We are, not knowing your knowledge level since you just got here, telling you that putting the parts you chose in that case is a bad move. It doesn't matter if you take the optical bays out, you're still only working with a single exhaust fan. It'll be fine(ish) if you don't overclock anything though. Might want to consider a different case at some point if the funds are available.

Forums are places where people help eachother. Sometimes that help is requested, sometimes it isn't. Any time you say something or post a picture of something on a forum, you have to expect it to be discussed and critiqued. I told a guy in another thread that his cable management wasn't very good. Did he get offended? Of course not. He asked what he could do to fix it. That's what we're here for.

Life is 10% what happens and 90% how you react to it.

 

[Kayva]

I understand and I apologize, In all honestly this setup needs to last for about a month - 2 months then I will re-case it... I was already thinking about it. But I needed to get the other case cleared out so I can start working on it ... So far I got at least 1 bad 120mm fan to replace (No Big deal) , and a monster cleaning ... IF the temp decides to come up a little for a day or 2 I may do some paint work as well (Been in the mid 30's and lower here)..

But again I am sorry, I automatically go on guard a little too easily (that's was 15 years working as a mechanic as the only woman in the shop turning wrenches does to you.) I will try to keep my guard down and see thing more objectively.

 

[trents]

Kayva,

Most of us know how it is or at least can remember what it was like to pinch pennies when you are raising a family and I respect your priorities. I also respect people who improvise to make do with what they have. Until you can get a case with better ventilation you might consider just running it with the side panels off and pointing a household fan at it. Blessings.

 

[Theocnoob]

I understand and I apologize, In all honestly this setup needs to last for about a month - 2 months then I will re-case it... I was already thinking about it. But I needed to get the other case cleared out so I can start working on it ... So far I got at least 1 bad 120mm fan to replace (No Big deal) , and a monster cleaning ... IF the temp decides to come up a little for a day or 2 I may do some paint work as well (Been in the mid 30's and lower here)..

But again I am sorry, I automatically go on guard a little too easily (that's was 15 years working as a mechanic as the only woman in the shop turning wrenches does to you.) I will try to keep my guard down and see thing more objectively.

No need to apologize. You will see there is nothing to get offended by here if you stick around for a while. Sometimes somebody is a jerk and they make a joke at your expense, but it is rare on this forum. You'll learn stuff here and maybe we'll learn stuff from you too. Nobody will ever make fun of your system though, or anything like that, or make fun of you for no reason. I've been made fun of for saying things like "I cut myself when I shave. Every time." But we're guys, and that's to be expected. As the only member with a my little pony avatar, your non-maleness will be evident to all and we'll make sure not to make any guy jokes at your expense.

It's a good place to talk and exchange ideas. The worst you'll hear is "That motherboard/cpu/GPU was a terrible purchase to make because...." and that's not making fun or taking cheap shots at you, that's just trying to give you advice so you can either exchange the part with a better one, or not make the same mistake on your next build. We're a very reliable place to ask for advice on what parts to pick out too. We used to have a member named Knufire who was a machine at laying out builds for people. He came up with some awesome systems. But he has disappeared, never to be heard from again. These days me, Bob, Bobby, EarthDog, ATMINSIDE, and a couple of other people do most of the build advice. We had a guy named Manu2B who was really good too but he's vanished. We need knowledgeable members to fill the ranks of these people who have been disappearing, so if you've been building PCs since the 90s, odds are you have a lot to contribute.

You'll like it here if you give it a chance. You'll see.

If I could make just 1 suggestion, in a friendly and helpful way, you might want to do some cable management. Here is a similarly configured system to yours in an Antec Sonata 3, which is 1 generation newer than yours and is pretty well identical internally.



To improve air flow, I zip tied and bundled together the extra power supply cables and stuffed them in the unused optical bays. THen I ran all the cables down to the various components along the hard drive/optical cage along the side so as not to block any air flow. This build has just as many cables as yours, except yours has 1 extra CPU fan due to the NHD14, but the cables are just out of the way.

I'm not saying what you did is no good, I'm just suggesting a way in which you might improve the thermal situation there.
BTW you can just barely make out a white fan in the front of that Sonata 3. It doesn't come with that, and there's no mount for it. I hot glued a 120mm fan there. You can remove the front panel (it's a p.i.t.a. but you can do it) then hot glue/super glue the fan in place and run the cable through the hard drive cage to a fan header/molex adapter. Makes a difference.

 

[Kayva]

This is my temps as of 5 minutes ago so you can see its not horrible temps..

I will do that, I'm probably going to fix the wiring on Thursday (my next day off) lol

 

[Kayva]

Also, this will probably be the case I'll be ordering once I do some measurements to make sure the Noctua will actually clear the door ...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811853004

 

[trents]

Kayva,

That case is only 7.65" wide. I would be skeptical that there is enough clearance to accommodate the Noctua. I generally tell people to get a case 8" wide or better to make sure there is room for any air cooler sporting 120MM or better fans. Most coolers in that class are around 160mm high. Some narrower cases will work, however, especially those with little or no space reserved for cable and wire management on the backside of the motherboard tray.

 

[Kayva]

that's actually was my concern with it, Trents. but I'll find the right one, lol

 

[Theocnoob]

I would personally go with this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...041&cm_re=Corsair_Spec-_-11-139-041-_-Product

or this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139018&cm_re=200r-_-11-139-018-_-Product

I realize they cost more, but they are still entry level cases, and they're much better. If you do go with a budget case, make sure it's wider. Your D14 won't fit otherwise.

Also, idle temps mean nothing, what you want to look at is your temps under sustained 100% load for at least 15 minutes.
The temps you showed are at 1200Mhz and a very low Vcore since speedstep is enabled. At full speed/full voltage/full load it would be another story entirely.

 

[trents]

Noob, the first case you reference is only 7.85" wide. It would probably clear the Noctua but it would be very close. I'd feel more comfortable with the second one just to be sure.

 

[Theocnoob]

Noob, the first case you reference is only 7.85" wide. It would probably clear the Noctua but it would be very close. I'd feel more comfortable with the second one just to be sure.

AFAIK they should both clear it. I had a D14 in an Antec 300. Fairly narrow case.

 

[Kayva]

Thank you, I will keep those in mind. I'm also keeping an eye on Craigslist but nothing yet

 

[rayraysfunhouse]

The NH-D14 is 158mm tall which is roughly 6 1/4 inches.

The first case posted the Spec 01 only accepts up to a 150mm cooler so your NH-D14 will not fit.

The 200r accepts up to a 160mm cooler so the Noctua would fit in that one.

When looking at cases if they aren't at least 8 inches wide I would assume that the Noctua wouldn't fit. Just try to keep that in mind.

 

[Theocnoob]

The NH-D14 is 158mm tall which is roughly 6 1/4 inches.

The first case posted the Spec 01 only accepts up to a 150mm cooler so your NH-D14 will not fit.

The 200r accepts up to a 160mm cooler so the Noctua would fit in that one.

When looking at cases if they aren't at least 8 inches wide I would assume that the Noctua wouldn't fit. Just try to keep that in mind.

Are you serious? I thought all corsair towers were wide enough for a D14. Shows how ignorant I am sometimes.

 

[rayraysfunhouse]

Are you serious? I thought all corsair towers were wide enough for a D14. Shows how ignorant I am sometimes.

Lol nope just takes a little snooping around while bored at work. Alot of the more budget minded cases don't have the width for a cooler like the Noctua from what I have seen. Some do but a lot don't.

 

[Kayva]

I may have something lined up .. found it on CL tonight ... Text the guy and he asked me to text back in an hour...

NXZT Phantom Enthusiast Edition... for $55 I'll grab it