Help Verify My Upgrade Specs

Logicsequence

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Hi all,
Some of you have been nice enough to post in some of my other threads about my upgrade taking place shortly, so i just wanted to run down the specs on what i'm planning to do, and see if anyone has any better ideas or can tell me if somethings incompatible, etc... etc...


Being Purchased:

<b>(1)</b> ASUS P5AD2-E Premium i925XE Chipset Motherboard
<b>(2)</b> Intel Pentium 4 560J 3.60GHz LGA775 Proccessor
(Overclocked to 3.8Ghz @ 1066MHz FSB)
<b>(3)</b> Corsair XMS2 Series Dual Channel Kit 1GB(512MB*2)
DDR2-675 PC2-5400 (*2 for a total of 2GB)
(Overclocked to 1066MHz FSB)
<b>(4)</b> ATi FireGL V7100 256MB GDDR3 PCIe Video Card
<b>(5)</b> Maxtor 250GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
<b>(6)</b> Enermax Noisetaker AX ATX 12V v2.0 485W Power Supply
<b>(7)</b> Zalman CNPS7700 All Copper CPU Cooler (Socket775)
<b>(8)</b> Arctic Silver Premium Silver Polysynthetic Silver
Thermal Compound
<b>(9)</b> Sony Internal 16x DVD+-R/RW Double Layer Drive


Already Have or Being Pulled From My Old System:

<b>(10)</b> Creative Labs Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS
<b>(11)</b> Thermaltake Xaser III full tower Case (7 80mm fans)
<b>(12)</b> Maxtor 250GB 7200RPM EIDE Hard Drive
<b>(13)</b> Seagate 160GB 7200RPM EIDE Hard Drive
<b>(14)</b> Western Digital 80GB 7200RPM EIDE Hard Drive
<b>(15)</b> Buslink 4x DVD+-R/RW Drive
<b>(16)</b> Floppy
<b>(17)</b> 2 Samsung 17" LCD Monitors
<b>(18)</b> Creative Labs P7800 7.1 Surround Speakers
<b>(19)</b> Logitech Cordless Keyboard/Opt. Mouse Combo


Ok i think that's all that matters. Does anyone see any problems or conflicts with that configuration?


I also have one question concerning the Hard Drives. I want to use the new Maxtor SATA HDD as my system drive, but i'm also going to have a couple other IDE HDD's attached as well. That should be no problem correct? The reason i ask is that i built a system recently with a SATA system drive, and when i put an IDE drive in to take some data off of it, the system tried to boot from the IDE drive. I obviously don't want that, i want my new system to boot from the SATA drive always, and use my IDE drives for storage.

(Hmmm for those familiar with the P5AD2-E Premium, the SATA drive will be on the SATA 1 Channel, the 250GB IDE drive on the IDE RAID 1 Channel (set as a stand alone drive), and the 160GB and 80GB on the IDE RAID 2 channel in a RAID0 Array, and the two DVD drives on the primary IDE channel.)

As always, any feedback is appriciated!

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by LogicSequence on 12/30/04 04:36 AM.</EM></FONT></P>
 

tweebel

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You can easily avoid booting from a IDE harddrive by correctly setting up the boot sequence. Choose the SATA controller to be the first device.

There is a problem with the RAID IDE setup you suggest. The mainboard has 3 IDE channels, which means a maximum of 6 IDE drives. 2 of the channels are being used for the RAID controller. If you are going to hookup 3 harddrives the way you suggest it won't be RAID0 but it will be JBOD (just a bunch of drives) on the Silicon Image controller. The optical drives will be on the Intel IDE controller with one being slave, the other master.
There also won't be a lot of difference between using the 250GB SATA or IDE as bootdisk, both probably are equally fast. Instead of usning 1 250GB SATA you can also buy 2x120GB SATA and set them up in RAID0 which costs about the same but is twice as fast. Of course it is not as reliable but it will be a lot faster for harddrive intensive applications. If you use a normal setup for the other IDE harddrives (I doubt how much faster JBOD would be, maybe others might tell you more about that) instead of JBOD you can use those for longtime storage and the RAID-setup as the system drive and "working" disks, especially if you partition them in the right way.
The power supply you have listed is quite powerful but if you're going to connect the entire list... Well, there are websites which tell you how much you need but I can't find them right now. But at about 25 for each burner and harddrive, about 100 for CPU, 40 for the mainboard, 50 or someting for the memory, 25 for all the fans and a little something for floppy drive and Audigy and a big unknown for the FireGL it might come close especially with the overclock. It's gonna take a lot from your 12 en 5 V rails.

Well, good luck!
 

Logicsequence

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Hey, thanx for responding. JBOD is fine with me, i can live with that, i just don't want boot conflicts (and yea i know about the boot sequence, weird thing is that in that system i built that i mentioned, when i attached an IDE hard drive, it would no longer list the SATA Drive as a bootable device, that's why i asked).

I know the PSU is powerful, but with what i'm building, if anything, it may be a LITTLE underpowered...

Anyways, it was one of the only decent mid-range ATX 2.0 PSU's i could find that met my standards. I didn't want to plug a standard ATX PSU into a board that CAN support 2.0, esp seeing as ASUS doesn't recommend doing so.


PLEASE, anyone else care to comment? i'd still like more feedback! THANX!
 

Vapor

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Ummmmm, how do you plan to do this:
Intel Pentium 4 560J 3.60GHz LGA775 Proccessor
(Overclocked to 3.8Ghz @ 1066MHz FSB)
????????

There's not even a multiplier that will get you 3.8. You can get 4.0 or 3.73 (not sure if the P4's open multipliers even go low enough for that one!)....but how you get 3.8 is beyond me.

Maxtor disgraces the six letters that make Matrox.
 

Crashman

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Hehe, I get 3.73 with the multiplier drop too.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>
 

tweebel

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The only difference really is speed (10.000 RPM instead of 7200 RPM), it will really make a huge difference if you use on of those for the HD intensive tasks. Of course they come with just a bit more sound and more heat.
The other option is, like I said, putting 2 120GB disks in RAID0.
And I thought again about your JBOD setup: If it has no real speed advantage and is just for storage I wouldn't put the drives in JBOD but use them just as single drives. Some of those drives are not that new and the chance one of those gives up on you is there. You'll just have some more drives...
 

mozzartusm

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I just built a 775 system, and based on what I know now from having one, and all that I read prior to buiding it, you can probably forget that big overclock unless you plan on cooling with liquid. How much does that Mobo cost? Is it the $240.00 version? I bought the Epox 5EPA for $115.00 and it overclocks very nice. If you saved that much money, you could use the savings and get a liquid cooling system. My CPU is the 3.4 version and im not very far from breaking 4.0! If your not going to use liquid to cool a 775, I would suggest that you get a different CPU.
 

mozzartusm

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I didnt read your specs correctly. I thought that you put 3.06 not 3.6. Anyway, heat is going to be a huge issue with the 775 regardless. Think really hard about this before you make a decision. Like I said, if your not going to cool it with liquid then your asking for trouble..
 

georgebeee

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I was under the impression that enermax was a decent PSU until I read this:

"In the 450-Watt-and-above class, a 200-Watt restriction is very low, such as with the Enermax and Noisemagic power supplies. Also, the combined load of the three plus-Volt lines for the Enermax EG465AX-VE(W) FMAX is rated at a mere 432 Watts. That means that output is a far cry from that suggested by the product name."

<A HREF="http://www6.tomshardware.com/howto/20030609/power_supplies-08.html#combined_output" target="_new">THG</A>

if I was you I might consider something else, with such a power hungry system
 

SidVicious

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I thought that you put 3.06 not 3.6. Anyway, heat is going to be a huge issue with the 775 regardless.

Bah, you were'nt that off with the 3.06GHz figure, his expensive 3.6GHz P4 will end up throttling down to 2.8GHz under load anyway, especially if overclocked.

Gotta love Intel's paper tiger...



Watercooled Mobile Barton 2500+ @ 2.6GHz (200MHz x 13)
Abit NF7-S V2.0
2x 512MB of Samsung TCC4
Sapphire Radeon 9700 128MB @ 360/310
2x Maxtor 40GB 7200RPM RAID-0
 

mozzartusm

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So far my 3.4 775 is running 33 - 36c under full load and clocked up as high as 3.918. I am cooling with liquid though. There isnt any doubt that CPU would be way to hot with only air. My Northbridge is proof of that, but now I have that heat issue under control also.
 

SidVicious

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I am cooling with liquid though. There isnt any doubt that CPU would be way to hot with only air.

Lets me wonder how long 'till watercooling become the standard cooling solution on stock systems...

I'm glad that I switched from air to liquid but I belive that stock watercooling might scare would be Do It Yourselvers.

Was 4GHz the highest you could go ?



Watercooled Mobile Barton 2500+ @ 2.6GHz (200MHz x 13)
Abit NF7-S V2.0
2x 512MB of Samsung TCC4
Sapphire Radeon 9700 128MB @ 360/310
2x Maxtor 40GB 7200RPM RAID-0
 

Logicsequence

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Well do keep in mind, i'm not using the boxed cooler, i'll be using a Zalman 7700, combined with SEVEN 80mm case fans in my Xaser III case, not to mention the ambient temperature in my room goes no higher than 65F (18.33C) degrees.

From what i've read reguarding results from the zalman, i beleive it will be able to handle the heat issue. Average Idle's with the Zalman are around 33C, and full loads around 38-42C (on 775s). IF that holds true, and i've done a lot of research and it appears to hold true, then i don't beleive throttling will be an issue.

You also have to bere in mind i'm getting a 560J not 560, the 560J comes with enhanced halt state and thermal monitoring 2, which also improve heat loss. Also, the P5AD2-E Premium comes with a special heat dissipation plate on the back of the mobo that further dissipates heat.
 

mozzartusm

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Well do keep in mind, i'm not using the boxed cooler, i'll be using a Zalman 7700, combined with SEVEN 80mm case fans in my Xaser III case, not to mention the ambient temperature in my room goes no higher than 65F (18.33C) degrees.
Thats all fine and good, but im trying to tell you from expereince that these CPU's put off alot more heat than you would think. If you had a air line running from your air conditioner directly into your case the cold air by itself wouldnt cool this CPU good enough. You mentioned that the CPU had advanced heat monitoring. That doesnt buy you performance, it just protects the CPU. Now the protection is great, but if the CPU is throttling back then you are just peeing into the wind. Agian, I am very pleased with my new system, however I doubt that you will be able to buy some of the components at the price that I did. For instance I lucked up and won a bid on my CPU for $200.00 including shipping. That was months ago, and I havent seen one go for that since then.

I think that you have your mind made up, and I wish you the best. The thing that I can't get past with the setup that your looking at is that you don't mind spending all this money for very nice equipment, however your not willing to shell out another $80.00 to cool it properly. The reason that I used $80.00 is that if you take the money that you would pay for the heatsink and place it on the liquid cooling system then the difference would be about $80.00 for the one that I got. Do as you wish, your satisfaction with your choice is the most important outcome. You really need to do alot more research though. If Intel is the way that you want to go, then the 478 CPU is ripping the 775 CPU's to pieces at least in the benchmarks that I looked at. Go to the 3D Mark website and look at the highest benchmarks for any 775 CPU and your pick of video card. A fast CPU alone doesnt mean anything if the the overall system benchmarks don't compete. AMD is the way to go, and that statement is coming from someone that only runs Intel systems! Now that is about as unbiased as you will likely hear.
 

mozzartusm

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Lets me wonder how long 'till watercooling become the standard cooling solution on stock systems...
Ive thought the same thing many times. Im all for Intel, they have accounted for 95% of the comps that I have owned, however if they dont do something about there heat issue then I would think that Liquid will become closer to the standard. For the average user, I dont see liquid becoming the way to go simply because most people wouldnt be able or willing to figure out how to use the system. For the overclocker, now that I have seen what liquid is capable of, I will be using it until they come up with something even better. Im really curious to find out how much longer "if any" that the liquid cooling will extend the life of the CPU especially for overclockers.

Was 4GHz the highest you could go ?
So far thats been my high. I hit that number about an hour after I got all the drivers and OS setup. This CPU is new to me so I dont know all the little tweaks and tricks to squeeze all of the jucie out yet. I would think that it still has some room to stretch. We shall see with time.
 

Logicsequence

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my problem is simple, albeit 2-fold.

A. Electronics and liquid don't mix, and i don't trust myself not to spill, it seems way way way too risky to me.

B. It's too expensive. If i go liquid i'll either have to get a PSU that's liquid cooled, or get an external liquid cooling system for the processor only, and either way that's over $250-350. Not to mention i'd probably have to get a new case. That's just way too much money. i'm over budget as it is.
 

Logicsequence

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for example:

<A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=35-106-040&depa=0" target="_new">http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=35-106-040&depa=0</A>

and

<A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-155-987&depa=0" target="_new">http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-155-987&depa=0</A>

and

<A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=35-106-049&depa=0" target="_new">http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=35-106-049&depa=0</A>
 

endyen

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Dont sweat it. With the fans you are running, and the aircond you have, the only problem you will have is the rise in your electric bill. With that kind of cooling, the prescotts become an okay chip.
 

Logicsequence

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LoL my electric bill is astronomical anyways, i doubt i'd notice much of a difference. I live in La., where winter lasts 2 weeks and summer lasts 50 weeks. Needless to say the A/C runs in this place 24/7.

I did a lot of research on cooling the prescott, which lead me to the zalman and the thermaltake tower, which imho is ugly, so i went with the zalman. Everything i've read indicates that it should be ok like u said endyen.

But still, if others have an opinion, please keep posting... but.. ehh... no nastiness please!
 

Lazerous

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7-80mm fans??? holy moly rocky. I may not be an expert but you might be better off using just 3 or 4 120mm fans, which would provide nearly twice air flow and nearly half the noise. ....that is unless of course you like living near an air strip. LOL

That zalman CPU cooler you are going to aquire even has a 120mm fan. I know its hard to find cases that are 120mm ready but there are a few. My Silverstone Temjin has 120mm mount for front and back and then another for the top blow hole, coupled with the Zalman, I believe that will be adequate for my A64 3700+ ( forgot to mention the HDD coolers for the dual raptors running in raid 0 - my bad :D)