Yet Another

BeastBeast Armonkyi Join Date: 2003-04-21 Member: 15731Members, Constellation
edited May 2005 in Off-Topic
<div class="IPBDescription">New computer thread.. but..</div> [UPDATED! again! again!]

This one has watercooling :O

Yep, I'm going to take the plunge and invest in a decent watercooling system for my next computer. I've allready bought a few parts for my comp, and more are one the way <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->

Parts bought:
Case: <a href='http://www.thermaltake.com/xasercase/armor/va8000bws/va8000bws.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.thermaltake.com/xasercase/armor...s/va8000bws.htm</a>
Soundcard: <a href='http://www.turtlebeach.com/site/products/soundcards/catalina/' target='_blank'>http://www.turtlebeach.com/site/products/s...cards/catalina/</a>
PSU: <a href='http://www.antec.com/uk/productDetails.php?ProdID=05481' target='_blank'>http://www.antec.com/uk/productDetails.php?ProdID=05481</a>
Waterblock:<a href='http://www.dangerdenstore.com/product.php?productid=28&cat=19&page=1' target='_blank'>http://www.dangerdenstore.com/product.php?...8&cat=19&page=1</a>
Radiator:<a href='http://www.dangerdenstore.com/product.php?productid=46&cat=15&page=1' target='_blank'>http://www.dangerdenstore.com/product.php?...6&cat=15&page=1</a>
Tubing:<a href='http://www.dangerdenstore.com/product.php?productid=58&cat=7&page=1' target='_blank'>http://www.dangerdenstore.com/product.php?...58&cat=7&page=1</a>
Reservoir:<a href='http://www.dangerdenstore.com/product.php?productid=51&cat=6&page=1' target='_blank'>http://www.dangerdenstore.com/product.php?...51&cat=6&page=1</a>
Pump: <a href='http://www.dangerdenstore.com/product.php?productid=135&cat=4&page=1' target='_blank'>http://www.dangerdenstore.com/product.php?...35&cat=4&page=1</a>
RAM: <a href='http://www.corsair.com/corsair/products/specs/twinx1024-3200c2.pdf' target='_blank'>http://www.corsair.com/corsair/products/sp...1024-3200c2.pdf</a>
Cooling Compounds/etc: Arctic Silver 5 and Zerex racing coolant.
Harddrive cooler: <a href='http://www.vantecusa.com/p_vtxc01_bk.html' target='_blank'>http://www.vantecusa.com/p_vtxc01_bk.html</a>

Parts pending purchase:

Socket 939 AMD Athlon 64 3800+ Venice core (pending price decrease)
Asus SLI Mobo (not yet confirmed)
GeForce 6800 GT (unconfirmed)
Seagate 250GB Harddrive (Pending purchase of above parts)


I'm currently unsure about which harddrives to get; any idea which work well, which don't, which are the fastest and which have the highest capacity?
Also, which brand of Nvidia card is most reliable? I have heard some are dodgy and some are good, but I'm unsure which is true and which is not o.o.

Thanks in advance for any help/advice offered <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<span style='font-size:7pt;line-height:100%'>(please avoid brand bashing unless you have actual evidence to prove they are bad, such as accounts of how hardware you bought went wrong or similar, not just "omg nvidia sucks teh big one!!111oneoneone" etc. Thankyou.)</span>
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Comments

  • SpoogeSpooge Thunderbolt missile in your cheerios Join Date: 2002-01-25 Member: 67Members
    I have seen some tests that showed Albatron cards had higher FPS scores in HL2 and Doom3 but I don't know much else about the brand. I've had Asus and Gainward cards without any issues. Asus is a big name so you should expect quality there and Gainward has a good history of brand supported overclocking.
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  • theclamtheclam Join Date: 2004-08-01 Member: 30290Members
    I've had an IBM hard drive that's gone bad on me, so I wouldn't recommend them. My two Western Digital hard drives are still working fine after two years, so I would recommend them (if you're looking for speed, it's hard to beat their Raptors). I'm just a sample size of one, so take that however you want.
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  • MrRadicalEdMrRadicalEd Turrent Master Join Date: 2004-08-13 Member: 30601Members
    I like Seagate hard drives. The SATA models go up to 400GB.. I've owned a handful of Seagate drives ranging from SCSI to SATA.. never ever had a problem with them.. the oldest one, a 36GB SCSI drive from '99, is still going strong..

    There is no real inconsistancies with NV video cards like that outside the difference between each of the models(core speed, ram, etc). You could go with a 6800GT and overclock it to speeds that of the ULTRA and save yourself some cash. What you might have heard is using two ULTRA cards in SLI used to have stability issues, but the blame was on the chipset makers of the mainboards... you could go to Anandtech or HardOCP forums to see if those issues have been resolved with more recent drivers.

    When you look at the 6800 look at what they bundle too.. maybe you only want a card or maybe you want that extra game. The price often reflects what you get. Though the manufacturer to buy is BFG Tech.
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  • raz0rraz0r Join Date: 2003-07-24 Member: 18395Members
    I would recommend an ATi card over that 6800GT, but if I was to get the GT, i'd go for either an XFX or a Leadtek card.
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  • SpetsnazSpetsnaz Join Date: 2003-12-26 Member: 24761Members, Constellation
    SATA HARD DRIVES OWN YOUR SOCKS, seriously invest in one! If you buy an amazing puter and then slap a pap HDD on it you'll notice the crapness of the HDD!

    GET SATA
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  • DaJMastaDaJMasta Join Date: 2005-01-10 Member: 34750Members, Constellation
    Yes SATA does pwn, have one drive already, getting another....

    But your choice of components is pretty good, the venice core wait is a GOOD idea, and by then the athlon 64 x2s will be coming soon, so it should b much cheaper.

    Just 2 things:
    Y pay extra for SLi when your only getting one gfx card (especially when theyre that expensive)?
    and how about memory, i see no mention of it, but its useful to have <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->
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  • NarfwakNarfwak Join Date: 2002-11-02 Member: 5258Members, Super Administrators, Forum Admins, NS1 Playtester, Playtest Lead, Forum Moderators, Constellation, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue, Reinforced - Supporter, Reinforced - Silver, Reinforced - Gold, Reinforced - Diamond, Reinforced - Shadow, Subnautica PT Lead, NS2 Community Developer
    <!--QuoteBegin-Spetsnaz+May 4 2005, 10:25 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Spetsnaz @ May 4 2005, 10:25 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> SATA HARD DRIVES OWN YOUR SOCKS, seriously invest in one! If you buy an amazing puter and then slap a pap HDD on it you'll notice the crapness of the HDD!

    GET SATA <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    Yes. SATA is teh pwn.
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  • BeastBeast Armonkyi Join Date: 2003-04-21 Member: 15731Members, Constellation
    <!--QuoteBegin-DaJMasta+May 4 2005, 07:08 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (DaJMasta @ May 4 2005, 07:08 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Yes SATA does pwn, have one drive already, getting another....

    But your choice of components is pretty good, the venice core wait is a GOOD idea, and by then the athlon 64 x2s will be coming soon, so it should b much cheaper.

    Just 2 things:
    Y pay extra for SLi when your only getting one gfx card (especially when theyre that expensive)?
    and how about memory, i see no mention of it, but its useful to have <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    Sli = good upgrade path:
    buy one card now, then in a few years time or so, buy another card later when its $100 and bamf, 180% the performance <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->


    As for memory, I don't know what to do there, but It should be fairly simple.
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  • Mad_ManMad_Man Join Date: 2003-06-13 Member: 17359Members, Constellation
    Iv seen the case you are gonna get, its good except the little flap things on the front, they are just crap
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  • KillymageeKillymagee Join Date: 2002-11-01 Member: 3136Members
    Sounds good but dump the 6800gt and the the Ati x850 xt. Sata rocks I have three of em <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile-fix.gif' /><!--endemo--> .
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  • IsamilIsamil Join Date: 2003-11-25 Member: 23552Members, Constellation
    The X850 XT is a lot more expensive then the 6800 GT. However, dump the 6800 GT and get an X800 XL, which is better and cheaper.
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  • BeastBeast Armonkyi Join Date: 2003-04-21 Member: 15731Members, Constellation
    <!--QuoteBegin-Isamil+May 4 2005, 11:17 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Isamil @ May 4 2005, 11:17 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> The X850 XT is a lot more expensive then the 6800 GT. However, dump the 6800 GT and get an X800 XL, which is better and cheaper. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    You can't SLI Ati cards. That's why I'm going with Nvidia atm - for the lovely upgrade path it provides.
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  • ShoeboxShoebox Join Date: 2004-11-15 Member: 32817Members
    for your video card i would go with BFG. one of my friends has a 6800GT and he says its real nice. also i too recommend going with SATA hard drives. i got one kinda by accident but now i like it.
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  • DaJMastaDaJMasta Join Date: 2005-01-10 Member: 34750Members, Constellation
    Ill give you that SLi will give decent upgrades with the new shader model 3 cards from nVidia. Just keep in mind SLi works best with the exact model card in both slots.

    Im personally a little bit of an ATi man, but the x800XL is seriously a good choice. Very close to the performance of a 6800GT, for roughly 100 cheaper, and $100 bucks is a decent upgrade path in itself <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->

    As for memory, definitely go dual channel, and I would say with the rest of the specs, do at LEAST 1GB, i would reccomend 2. At newegg ive seen a gig (2x 512) and 2 gigs (2x 1024) for 100 and 200 respectively, add another 50 bucks to each for pretty high quality stuff (CAS 2.5 or lower, ive seen a bunch of DDR400 with CAS 2 for just over $100 per GB). But ram is a serious consideration, I have a gig in my moderately out of date system which is good, but i regret going for the "value ram" because its majorly capping my OC potential.
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  • raz0rraz0r Join Date: 2003-07-24 Member: 18395Members
    edited May 2005
    ATi are bringing out a version of SLI, called AMR (ATi Multi Rendering, i think) sometime this year, i think it's around june, when the R520 cards are due out, which are supposed to be more powerful than SLI'd 6800Ultras, and then, put that in an AMR setup, and what more could you want?
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  • BeastBeast Armonkyi Join Date: 2003-04-21 Member: 15731Members, Constellation
    edited May 2005
    Update:
    Have Sorta finalised my watercooling setup; however I am unsure weither I'm getting a "good deal"
    What I'm about to buy atm includes:

    *Danger Den RBX A64 waterblock
    *Thermochill 3x120mm fan radiator block thing
    *Danger den HDPE drivebay resevoir
    *10ft of Tygon tubing

    The total for the above excluding delivery is £135 (about $245)

    The place I'm buying this from is out of stock of the pump I'm after, hense the lack of it atm.
    I'm also "missing" the coolant and the thermal compound for the waterblock. I plan to get them from another site.
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  • DaJMastaDaJMasta Join Date: 2005-01-10 Member: 34750Members, Constellation
    well i'd say a good price for waterblocks is uner 40 USD, then the tubing shouldnt be more than 10...so your paying almost 200 bucks for a radiator (err is it 3?) and a drivebay resevoir?

    Sounds a little steep....

    Coolant is usually water with an anti-algal agent, sometimes with something to make it more heat conductive, and the thermal compound, argueably the best is arctic silver 5, which I got a little syringe full for about 7 bucks. So its pretty cheap.

    as for prices... <a href='http://www.svc.com/' target='_blank'>SVC</a> is a pretty good site for prices, though I have no idea what their international shipping is...

    On second glance the raidiators if your actually getting 3 its not such a bad price, but Ive never seen a water cooling kit with more than 2, so maybe reconsider and save yourself some cash.
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  • BeastBeast Armonkyi Join Date: 2003-04-21 Member: 15731Members, Constellation
    <!--QuoteBegin-DaJMasta+May 5 2005, 07:14 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (DaJMasta @ May 5 2005, 07:14 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> well i'd say a good price for waterblocks is uner 40 USD, then the tubing shouldnt be more than 10...so your paying almost 200 bucks for a radiator (err is it 3?) and a drivebay resevoir?

    Sounds a little steep....

    Coolant is usually water with an anti-algal agent, sometimes with something to make it more heat conductive, and the thermal compound, argueably the best is arctic silver 5, which I got a little syringe full for about 7 bucks. So its pretty cheap.

    as for prices... <a href='http://www.svc.com/' target='_blank'>SVC</a> is a pretty good site for prices, though I have no idea what their international shipping is...

    On second glance the raidiators if your actually getting 3 its not such a bad price, but Ive never seen a water cooling kit with more than 2, so maybe reconsider and save yourself some cash. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    Tygon tubing is expensive. Its also INSANELY good. If I was to get the 2 fan radiator, I would save $14. xD Hense why I'm going with the 3fan. Also for the 3-stage failsafe:
    If one fan breaks, I've still got the other 2
    If another, one left.
    If they all break, its still big enough to passively cool for a bit.
    Which is good.

    Will be getting some Corsair RAM soon also. woot \o.o/
    *Has just completed orderform for watercooling kit*
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  • DaJMastaDaJMasta Join Date: 2005-01-10 Member: 34750Members, Constellation
    corsair owns.

    good choice on like everything <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
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  • BeastBeast Armonkyi Join Date: 2003-04-21 Member: 15731Members, Constellation
    Just bought the pump along with a Danger Den casebadge, and some lovely RAM <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
    Only the most expensive parts left now (aside the coolant)
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  • LaserBeamsLaserBeams Join Date: 2004-08-26 Member: 30915Members
    The water block is $53, the radiator is $120 (it's about 5"x15", all copper, can hold up to 6 fans), the unbreakable reservoir is $18, and the tubing is $29, so all that together is $220 - USD, excluding delivery. Markup in the UK is around 50% in many places, so only paying an extra $25 isn't too bad at all.
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  • DaJMastaDaJMasta Join Date: 2005-01-10 Member: 34750Members, Constellation
    WOW. Thats a hugeungus radiator....

    5x15 would like barely fit in my case... <!--emo&:0--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wow.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wow.gif' /><!--endemo-->
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  • BeastBeast Armonkyi Join Date: 2003-04-21 Member: 15731Members, Constellation
    <!--QuoteBegin-DaJMasta+May 7 2005, 04:29 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (DaJMasta @ May 7 2005, 04:29 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> WOW. Thats a hugeungus radiator....

    5x15 would like barely fit in my case... <!--emo&:0--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wow.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wow.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    The radiator will most likely end up getting its own external minicase thingy, to aid in cooling <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
    Looking around for good harddrives, and harddrive coolers atm o.o.
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  • BeastBeast Armonkyi Join Date: 2003-04-21 Member: 15731Members, Constellation
    *update*
    Just purchased cooling compound/etc along with some nifty accessories for the kit <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
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