Project Lost Heaven

[Kerotan]

Project Lost Heaven

OK, well I couldn’t really think of a good name for the project [anyone come up with anything better, let me know ] as atm it’s a straight hardware swap into my 900, so without anything special being done to the case I just thought I’d name it after a fictional city which some of you may know, may even have spent a few days in.

I now have everything I need to begin the build, bar the RAM, which I am still seeking last minute advice on here.

Specs are:

CPU: Intel Q6600 with Xigmatek HDT-S1283

Mobo: ASUS P5Q-E

RAM: 4GB of something

GFX: XFX 7900GS with Akasa Vortexx Neo

HDD: 2* 160GB HGST (SATA II, 7900, 8MB)

PSU: Corsair HX520

Case: Antec 900

Monitor: Cibox 19” (1440*900, 75Hz)

The only pics I have so far are of one of my most crucial components, my anti-static earthing “wristband”:

And a bunch of hardware boxes:

I will add more pics as the build progresses. I do have a few questions however. This will be the 3rd PC I have built, however I have never actually Physically changed a CPU or a HSF, so if there is anything I need to know here, speak now or forever hold your peace. Everything else like mobo installation, ram installation, gfx, hdd etc will be for the 3rd time so hopefully will go smoothly.

As for the CPU cooler, I’m really pleased that I got the Xiggy, as the bottom fins just clear the heatpipes on the mobo, but I have realised I might have a problem with my choice of thermal paste. I chose Arctic Cooling MX-2, because I had read good reviews and it was non-conductive, but I have now read that you should not use compounds with HDT coolers which could cause oxidisation on the copper heatpipes. Should I use the stuff which came with the cooler, cos it looks kinda naff or will MX-2 work fine?

Can I take the stock cooler straight off the 7900GS, or will I need to run it for 15min or something to heat and loosen the thermal compound, I’ve heard that people can pull off chipsets etc- can this happen with a GPU? Also the whole of the heatsink core on the Vortexx is copper- will I have any of the same problems with MX-2 as the CPU cooler?

sorry for all the n00b questions and thanks for reading!

 

[cube]

Nice hardware friend- and a nice case too. I have the 900 and love it, great performance and looks at a very reasonable price.

As for the compound question - read the manufacturers guidelines. If a compound has metallic attributes and is formed partly from metal, then it will likely oxidize metals it comes onto contact with, but compounds like Ceramique etc. which are non conductive/ metallic should be fine. Don't take my word as gospel though as I don't know enough about this as of yet - I always just stick to what comes with my HSF's.

 

[TopSecret]

Looks like you will have a nice rig there mate. Regards the thermal compound, less is better. You need to be aiming for as thin a coating as possible on the CPU heatspreader. I use a pea sized amount and spread it with an old credit card making sure the heatspreader is fully and evenly coated. The paste is intended to fill the microscopic flaws on the HSF and CPU contact surfaces, and applying too thick a coating can have an adverse effect on temps. Good luck with the build!

 

[Silentsnake]

did you make that earthing wristband your self lol?

How do you make one?, im guessing you just get a cable and put it in th earth port on the plug then rap the other end of the cable round your wrist

 

[WC Annihilus]

MX-2 should be perfectly fine. Also, for the application:

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.p...sk=view&id=170&Itemid=38&limit=1&limitstart=5

 

[Kerotan]

Cheers for the replies chaps- got everything up and running, but had to use the stock cooler for now because I decided in my wisdom [stupidity] that as the xigmatek uses push-pins, I could just fit it with the motherboard already in the case- big mistake. I couldn't physically reach the push pins around the heatsink due to its size so I just decided to go with the stock cooler which is giving me pretty nice idles of 31, 31, 23 and 27 atm. What is Tj. Max in coretemp? because mine is at 100*C all the time?

Also I have a problem with the CPU keep clocking itself down- the multiplier goes from x9 to x6, but intel speedstep is disabled in BIOS, so is there some other power-saving feature I'm unaware of?

i will post up some pics soon- I just need to order a SATA dvd burner to lose the bulky IDE cable.