Extreme Cooling

[Sch1sm]

Well, after a short break from online life, i thought i would come back to the EPUK forums as i've been on the Custom PC forums for a good while and now racked up 2000 posts under the same moniker. So, i have a little story to tell. It burns. Badly.

A long long time ago, well about 5 months ago actually, i had an AMD XP 2600+ Tbred which was running on an Akasa HSF, copper base, aluminium fins. It was hot, 57C idle infact, and one day, it died. Because of my friends dad letting it hit 75C. I cried. For all of 20 minutes actually because i managed to squeeze another 2600+ from a friend and promptly attached a GIGABYTE 3D Cooler Pro to its core.

Ever since then i have been tetchy about my temperatures and i think it's time i did something about it. Extreme cooling is the way and - temperatures would be excellent, but i ask, what to look for and most previlent of all, i have never built a watercooling kit or installed it before, so i'm a little wary of it at the moment.

I was looking at the Mach II for cooling and understand the power of the compressor, but is it difficult to install?

Any help would be excellent and most appreciated. Thank you.

Sch1sm

 

[justin]

http://www.extremecoolingtechnologies.com/support/downloads/MACHII.pdf here is the install guide for the mach 2

 

[Dazboots]

hello m8 and welcome back to the forums....

 

[maverik-sg1]

It's not difficult to install a mach2 unit at all.

A small mod to the case to allow the tube holding the cooling head to enter the case and then the rest can be found in the manual and on a tomshardware installation video - just take your time and you are away.

3ghz is just around the corner for your rig my friend.

Although Perhaps an upgrade (Asus A8N SLI DLX and Venice CPU) with decent watercooling would offer better value for money as a new starting place for you.

Welcome back too.

Mav

 

[Sch1sm]

I'm currently boasting an AGP system the moment so let me see, new PSU, GPU, CPU, Motherboard, HSF or a Mach II GT. This is a tough choice. But to be quite frank i only ever use my PC for programming and Operation Flashpoint, which is CPU intensive and could be graded as a burn in test itself.

I think i mayaswell go for the Mach II, cooler temperatures are my thing and besides i think my dad would complain about all my upgrades so i'll simply make do with what i have, if it does its job then why complain?

Also, my 2600+ is multiplier locked and the 333MHz variant, and it won't boot at 200MHz FSB even with my GeIL RAM. *Sigh* Thank you for the welcome back and hello Dazboots, i knew you would pop up soon enough.

 

[Phil Stanbridge]

oooooh another Operation Flashpoint fan.. That is the best game ever - I cant wait for the new version to appear in 2006.

But back to the thread, a GT will future proof your new system's cooling potential. Get in touch with me and I can sort you a deal.

 

[Mindless-Moron]

I'd go with the mach 2 if you could afford it, you know it would be fun. I love operation flashpoint, i actually made a scenario which spawns progressive amounts of enemies and more complex triggers it really tested your cpu.

 

[GoLLuM4444]

Welcome back - go for a mach 2. (Or a cascade which is ironically about the same price).

 

[maverik-sg1]

oooooh another Operation Flashpoint fan.. That is the best game ever - I cant wait for the new version to appear in 2006.

Another game I aint got round to playing yet

 

[justin]

i downloaded the demo, its good fun

 

[SAS91]

Another game I aint got round to playing yet

cheap as chips now m8 u can pick it up for about a tenner maybe a fiver if you get lucky !

 

[Sch1sm]

Operation Flashpoint has gone through so many changes, i daresay there is as little left originally in 2001 as there ever could be. Nothing! As for cooling, i'm putting off my GT for justnow and upgrading my system to the following:

Asus A8N Sli Deluxe Motherboard

AMD 64 3800+ X2

NVIDIA GeForce 7800GT PCI-E

Appropriately powered PSU as at this point i am undecided on.

Which means the guts of my current PC must go. Sad i know, but good things come to those who wait. Or so they say.

 

[PHILIP1193]

the new targan modular psu is teh best psu i have ever used, quiet, fully braided lines and modular so the case looks clean and teh rails are of good strength too casnt go wrong buddy and teh price beats that of teh pcp+c range and many of it other competiors

Phil

 

[Sch1sm]

Right, a small matter of consquence. I've gone of games. Including Flashpoint and it's about as catactrophic as running off the road with a 4x4, caravan in tow as i've got a lot of games i could be playing but am sacrificing to help the fiance deal with financial troubles. *Cue "Aww"* Now, i read Custom PC, infact i have every issue of Custom PC ever published and since they're into overclocking,voltmodding and soforth, i think my only option is to turn to the murky world of benchmarking.

Now, i'll be staying AGP. *Cue slap on cheek audio* Reason being is that my elderly Uncle bought me my 6600GT for my 18th and since i'm strictly a 1024 resolution pimp, it's fine and could always do with a voltmod but what exactly would i be able to put forward for my next CPU? Dual Core seems a little out of the question, perhaps an AMD 64 3200+ to balance the CPU/GPU scales and another Gb of GeIL RAM to push Battlefield 2, if i ever get round to playing games anymore that is.

*Is confused* I want to be converted to the Dark Side!

Also, i feel rather ashamed with my specifications compared to everyone else on this forum.

CPU Model AMD Athlon XP 2600+

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-7N400 Pro 2 NForce 2 Ultra 400

Video Card: Sparkle NVIDIA GeForce 6600GT 128MB AGP

RAM: 1GB GeIL Value Dual Channel DDR 400 RAM (Soon To Be 2GB)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda U-ATA 160GB (Soon To Be Two)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Home SP2 (Tweaked To The Sky)

And component manufacturer wise:

GIGABYTE GA-7N400 Pro 2 Nforce 2 Ultra 400 Motherboard

GIGABYTE 3D Cooler Pro HSF

AMD Athlon XP 2600+ CPU

Sparkle NVIDIA GeForce 6600GT 128MB GPU

Seagate Barracuda 160GB U-ATA Hard Drive

LG DVD-ROM Drive

1GB (2x 512MB) GeIL Dual Channel Value RAM

Akasa Eclipse 62 Case

Akasa Powerpax 460W PSU

Akasa HDD Cooler

Akasa Rounded IDE Cables x2

Akasa Amber Series 120mm Fans x2

Logitech Communicate STX Webcam

Logitech MX510 Optical Mouse

Logitech Cordless Desktop EX100

NETGEAR DG834 ADSL Firewall Router

As you can tell, i'm a fan of Akasa products.

 

[maverik-sg1]

You got a great set-up there - had it myself not too long ago.

Your cpu is throttling the cards performance so an upgrade is required (mobo and cpu). But what to if your gonna stay AGP?

Socket 754 and DFI NF3 immediately spring to mind, although someone is introducing skt754 NF4 shortly so that may be the way, if the price is right for ya.

Plenty of options CPU wise - try and get a Turion dual core if you can at the right price, but most A64's will help you realise the potential of the 6600GT.

Good luck friend sounds like an interesting time for ya.

Mav

4x 512MB of ram is gonna hit your performance, better to get 2x1GB sticks instead so that they run 1t timings.