Posted: 6/15/2010 9:49:59 PM EDT
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Just built this about 2 weeks ago. Nothing too special, but it runs like a champ and is super quiet. Total price shipped to the doorstep was a hair under $1600. Specs-  First half of shipment arrived-  Second half of shipment arrived-  Finished the "hot-side" of my molex terminal block mod-  Custom acrylic side-panel window with the R4s on the inside and FilterRight 2piece filters on the outside-  All assembled-     CPUID HWM temps-  CPU-Z main page stats-  Still need to cut the metal fan grill mesh from the top and rear exhaust fan areas to increase exhaust airflow, modify the bottom of the front panel due to an opening that allows un-filtered air in the case, find a better place for all the PSU wiring, make a false floor, replace the red power and HDD LEDs on the i/o panel with blue LEDs, and have a new side-panel window made on the CNC since this first one was done by hand at a local shop and was not measured/centered properly. I used the Corsair 120mm fan that came with the H50 as a pull fan on the rad after these pics were taken, will eventually order an R4 to replace it since the Corsair paired with the R4 as it sits is probably sub-optimal. Will eventually lap the H50 and the CPU whenever I get the time, aiming for an idle temp below 30c, preferably around 25c. EDIT: Did some mods since this post, RMA'd the board twice before finally saying fuck it and going with the Asus Crosshair IV. Need to get some new pics now that the new board is installed. The red/black of the board doesn't flow well with all the blue LEDs, but oh well. |
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Quoted: Built pretty much the same thing, except with the 5870 vid card. Been having a blast with her! Enjoy it. I thought about going with the 5850 or 5870, but the price difference compared to performance gains didn't really do it for me. The 5830 is a great card and is more than enough to handle any games out there at max settings, and crossfiring them when the time comes won't cost me a fortune. Plus this particular 5830 was on sale and included a free OCz 8gb flash drive, deals are always nice.  |
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Just a little update. Cut out the mesh in the case to increase airflow, enlarged the hole at the top of the motherboard plate for the 24pin to fit through, and RMA'd the board twice. Also installed push/pull fans on the rad, with a clear shroud between rad and push fan in order to eliminate the "dead spot" created when the fan is directly mounted to the rad. Still mounted on rear of case as exhaust, which offered lower temps than using them on front or back as intake per Corsair's instructions. CPU idle temp stayed around 28-29c with an ambient room temp between 70-75f...also using the "beta" ICDiamond 24carat thermal compound on CPU and GPU which resulted in a 2-3c drop on both. First RMA = MOSFETs under the drMOS heatsink crapped out when I overclocked the core voltage from 1.375 to 1.475. After the replacement arrived, I did some research and found that many of these MSI 890fx-gd70 boards have the same issue with the MOSFETs dying...out of the box, or under a mild to extreme overclock. MSI wasn't acknowledging this, they were just sending out replacements that were still dying. This led to me RMA'ing the replacement since I was afraid to use it for what it was designed for, going with a Crosshair IV instead. I'd also like to add that Newegg let me RMA this replacement, which was/is working fine out of the box, a month or two after my 30day return policy ended. Full refund in the form of in-store credit which I will use for the new board. The rep I spoke to on the phone knew quite a bit about these boards and this flaw, and they've apparently been speaking with MSI about it due to all the RMA's that have been submitted for this model. If MSI releases a revision that is fixed, then it would definitely be a board to check out. Until then, avoid it and go with Gigabyte or Asus. Also looking at selling the PSU to a friend and buying the modular version, because I don't like seeing that huge mess of wires tucked above the HDD. Got some better pics before I RMA'd the board again...     |
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Got the Corsair H50 in my recent build, absolutely love it. The stock fan sounded like a banshee getting raped by a horse.
The V3 case I got was too small for the H50 though, the top of the radiator was a little tall and I could not line up the screws with the holes for the rear 120mm fan. Had to Obama-rig it (push fan on the outside of case  ). It isn't an optimal setup but it works for now.
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Quoted: Got the Corsair H50 in my recent build, absolutely love it. The stock fan sounded like a banshee getting raped by a horse. The V3 case I got was too small for the H50 though, the top of the radiator was a little tall and I could not line up the screws with the holes for the rear 120mm fan. Had to Obama-rig it (push fan on the outside of case ). It isn't an optimal setup but it works for now.Definitely a good cooler, probably the best you could get for under $100. I am debating on if I want to lap this H50 and the cpu for even lower temps. Some H50 users have turned their H50 in to an open-loop system to add a little more fluid capacity + reservoir + hoses that are a little nicer looking. The downside is you'll still be held back by the pump and the small rad, so cooling anything more than the CPU probably won't work too well. I'd throw together a custom kit before modding my H50, honestly. My rad, shroud and push fan are inside the case. Pull fan is on the outside. I couldn't do it all inside the case because it caused the entire setup to interfere with the top side panel fan. My way isn't bad, just need to throw a 120mm grill on that pull fan so it doesn't catch wires or fingers. CoolerMaster R4 series fans seem to be the best when it comes to db versus cfm, it has the best balance between the two in my opinion. They work great with the H50 rad, but you'll need at least 1 shroud like the one I have between rad and push. Otherwise the fan is right up against the rad and causes the dead/hot spot in the middle of the rad which will hurt your temps a bit. If you haven't already, you might want to consider using a dremel or some other cutting device to remove the fan mesh in the case where the fans mount. This really increases airflow, and removes one more item that could collect dust and gradually reduce airflow. On my case I removed the top mesh, rear mesh, and front/lower mesh. It's a frickin' wind tunnel in there now. |
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Building is so fun. I would be very bored if computers were simply an appliance.
Phenom X2 555, overclocked to 4.0GHZ. Actually got all 4 cores to unlock, but it would BSOD every few days. 4GB DDR3 Geforce GTX275 Antec 1200 (overkill, but I like my computers to pay homage to 1960's room-sized rigs) Antec Earthwatts 650W PSU I use Ultramon to switch between profiles. I use 2 19" LCDs normally, but kick over to a 3-display profile with my 32" HDTV as the primary, for gaming. Plays Mass Effect 2 maxed out. About the best I could ask for. |
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Quoted: It looks like a real beauty! Could you explain what the molex mod is and what it does? It basically turns one molex plug in to 3 or more, but without the mess of molex plugs/wiring. Makes installing fans and lights a breeze, with minimal wiring to tuck. I just route what I need, cut the slack at the molex termal block and it's done. In that photo I have only the hot side done, the side powered by the molex rail. I ran wiring off of the block to a female molex plug which keeps me from having to splice the PSU wiring. The other side with the empty terminals is where I install all my fans/lights/etc using the "eyelet" crimp connectors. I'll have to get a finished-product picture to show it with everything wired up, will probably do this when the new motherboard gets here. |
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Quoted:  All it needs is RAID0 or SSD. Meh, not in much of a hurry to double my chances of data loss. If I did something like this, it'd probably be RAID1. I would, however, enjoy a few SSDs tucked away in my case. Will wait for the cost to drop a little more on the bigger ones(120gb+). |
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Quoted: Not too shabby. If I make another build, it will be with a modular power supply so I dont have a shit ton of extra wiring bundled up somewhere like I do now, and unfortunately you do, too... Yeah, non-modular PSUs just don't do it for me anymore. I made it look good, but I just don't like that bundle of wires sitting on top of my HDD like that...even though I have a piece of custom-cut foam to cover that area, it still bugs me. I'll probably sell this PSU to a friend and get the modular version which is only about $20 more than what I paid for this one. Also thinking about just grabbing another Sapphire 5830 before they disappear from newegg. One is doing just fine, runs BFBC2 at max settings in 1400x900 windowed mode around 90fps, but two would be better.  |
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Finally got the new motherboard in. Crosshair IV > MSI 890fx-gd70. This CHIV is frickin' sweet! Quoted: Watch out.... too much VTAC kicking in will destroy that!! http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk304/vwcraig/Chat%20Idiots/coolstorybro.jpg Is there a reason you're quoting all my posts in this section and posting that picture as the reply? |
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Really impressive. I'd like to start a thread either here or in the gaming forum of everyone's current rig. Am interested in the choices everyone has made to build their custom box. posted this in the gaming forum. But here is my super budget gaming pc. update from my last build as the motherboard went out, bought a new case as well to deal with overclocking and heat. mATX amd board (nothing fancy). ThermalTake case (love it, tons of room, slots for up to 6 fans. AMD Athlon 64 X2 Windsor +6000 3.0ghz. 6gb of DDR2 Nvidia GeForce 240 1gb DDR3 Around $500 in all. Games: Starcraft 2 (runs on ultimate settings just fine) Diablo II (yeah I'm still playing it) Call of Duty (still enjoy the original) Rise of Nations R.U.S.E. (out in a few weeks)  |
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This Crosshair IV board is pretty badass. I hit 4.0GHz @ 1.45v easily, haven't come across any instabilities with the several different tests I've been running. Idle temp is 36c with an ambient around 24c. A bit high for my liking, since I'm using an H50 with push/shroud/pull and ICDiamond 24c thermal compound, but it's not bad. Load temp 2 hours in to Prime95 blend testing maxed out at 54c. Will get new pics with the CHIV installed sometime this weekend. I think I may sell the H50 and just do full water-cooling on this rig, that EK block for the CHIV looks pretty tempting. The H50 is nice and all, but what makes it so appealing is also what holds it back. Small rad, pump being part of the cpu block, closed-loop/maintenance-free which prohibits topping off and changing coolant. The H70 is supposed to be a little better, but those setbacks will still remain. |
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