New Computer build notes

[GT98]

I had the time to tear apart my old system and put in the new stuff I got.

Here was the old system setup:

DFI nF4-SLI-D Mobo with a dead northbridge Fan (still ran fine strangely enough)
Athlon 64 3500+
1 GB Crucial Memory
Asus ATI X800XL 256MB
Soundblaster Audigy 2
Coolermaster Aquagate cooling system
Coolermaster Stacker Case
WD 75GB Raptor

New computer stuff:

Asus P5W Deluxe DH
E6400 2.13 Ghz Core 2 Duo CPU
2x Sapphire X1950 PRO 256MB Video cards in Crossfire
2GB Corsair XMS DDR2-800 Memory
Koolance Exos LT
Koolance CPU305-06 waterblock for CPU

Build notes:

Went together pretty easy, only bone of contention during the construction process was that the directions for the waterblock where screwed up. The copy I had said to use the upper set of holes to connect the bracket for the waterblock to the mounts on the motherboard. If you did this, there was entirely too much play between the CPU and waterblock. I'm like WTF. Checked the updated directions and they said to use the lower holes like I suspected. Couple turns on the thumbscrew and I was done.

The Sapphire X1950 Pro Video cards have VERY little documentation with them. Zero documentation on how to install the cards so they work with Crossfire. Thankfully I read a review earlier in the day explaining what the internal bridges needed to go. The fan on the bottom X1950Pro is quite a bit louder then the upper one. Not sure if its the fan or it having the soundcard right next to it. Koolance makes waterblocks for the X1900 series, but I think I'll wait till I get my DX10 card and water cool that when the time comes.

Booted up the first time with no problem. Installed Windows, ran into an activation issue with it, but was more or less painless to deal with. During the bootup, noticed I installed the memory wrong, was in single channel mode, moved the memory to the right slot to get dual channel mode.

Currently running Orthos to stress test to see if I have any issues with the stock setup before overclocking. Pretty impressed so far Koolance Waterblock and cooler...my CPU temps are only about 10-15 degrees over room temp. The other nice thing is the waterblock has a machined slot in the bottom of it to install a temp probe. Only downside, IMO, is the Koolance cooler runs off the Power Supply, which puts further stress on it. I have a 535W Enermax PS, so I'm thinking I should be ok.

Depending on what time I get out of work today, I'll start seeing what she can overclock at. Hoping to break the 3Ghz barrier and then some

[agallag]

If you're hoping to go from 2.13 Mhz to 3 GHz, good luck with that.

Anyway, here's the system I just built. Not quite as extreme as yours, but it ticks along quite nicely.

ASUS M2N-E nForce 570 Ultra
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ (2.4GHz) AM2 65W
2 GB OCZ Platinum PC2-6400 DDR2-800
Sapphire Radeon X1900GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI-E
Pioneer DVR-111D 16X8X8X6 DVD±RW

I'm using stock cooling, so I won't be overclocking anything.

[GT98]

If you're hoping to go from 2.13 Mhz to 3 GHz, good luck with that.

Fixed!

[GT98]

Ok did some playing around, right now I'm at 3238 Mhz with out messing around with the voltages on the CPU or Memory. I'm at a 405 Mhz FSB and only doing 39C for my CPU temp. I want to see if I can crack 3.6 GHz with the system

[Mehen]

Ok did some playing around, right now I'm at 3238 Mhz with out messing around with the voltages on the CPU or Memory. I'm at a 405 Mhz FSB and only doing 39C for my CPU temp. I want to see if I can crack 3.6 GHz with the system

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!! /me is jealous

[GT98]

I've been having problems with trying to run the FSB over 405 as of late. I need to find a guide out there for suggestions.

[Mehen]

Up the voltage

[GT98]

Up the voltage

I did...I finally figured out how the memory divider works...I'm at 410 FSB ATM, and ran over night with Orthious with no errors with a 4/3 divider. I'll push her up some more when I get home from work.