Dr. Paul

Thanks to timely comments by linderman, I have changed courses completely and left the DDR3 field. After returning to the nuts and bolts of the DDR2 system, I was in a quandry about P45 vs X48 systems. I then decided on P45 platform and was left with the choice of Asus Maximus Formula II or Gigabyte. Here is my proposed system now.

Antec 1200 case, Intel E8500 with Eo stepping, Gigabyte GA-EP45-DQ6, Corsair TWIN2X4096-8500C5DR vs -9136C5DF memory, Corsair HX-1000W, Samsun DVD+/-RW SH S223Q & S223F, 2X Seagate 7200.11 1TB, Lian Li Card Reader CR-25B, Logitech G9/G15, Asus Radeon 4780 1GB or Sapphire 4750X2 and Arctic Silver 5.
Having difficultly with chosing coolers: i.e. Thermalright ULTRA 120-Extreme with Scythe S-Flex 120 mm fans, vs Thermaltake IFX14 with fans, OC Vendetta 2 or Cooler Master V8. Any problems with these choices affecting either memory slots and case dimensions?
What about video?
Any thoughts or comments would be deeply appreciated.

Thanks.

Dr. Paul

Typo. Please change the videos to Radeon 4870 1GB and Radeon 4850X2.
Thanks.

linderman

well done ............. either direction you go with that ............... is a winner

if you can swing it .............. E8600 but its not crucial



I only wish I had an exact release date on the 4850 X2 ........ it was suppose to be August 08 ??????????????

Dr. Paul

Thanks for your timely assistance. The cooler choices is still a question.

I plan to wait for a little while and see if the 4860X2 comes out. I think that Sapphire now has a card. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102809
It is cheaper to purchase two separate Asus 4850's and run them in Crossfire. $179.99 each.

Again, thanks.

linderman

well i havent used the other cooler ........ I do however swear by the thermalright ultra 120 extreme ........ you can also pay an extra $20.00 at some vendors and they will lap the heatsink for you ! thats a real plus too! if you want to overclock anyway

I dont see any cooler beating the ultra 120 extreme and "if" they do it wont be by any amount worth chasing !

the zalman 9700 aint no slouch either !

Dr. Paul

Why E8600 vs E8500 when the price point is so different? For a real benefit, I would pay the extra.
Thanks.

linderman

yeah youre right ............ the E8500 is sooooo close and much better priced ......... sorry I stand corrected

thats why the number one seller now is the E8500

linderman

the E8600 just makes it soooo easy to hit the magical barrier of overclocking to 4.0ghz

not really a big tada for the every day fella ..........

kodi

I have recently purchased a Noctua NH-C12P (Read the reviews on that link)
I can recommend it as the best on the market at present.
Disregard the price as that is the Australian price, always way dearer than the USA price

Dr. Paul

Thanks for the follow up.
Newegg is apparently out of the Ultra 120-Extreme as are several other vendors. Not sure where to go to have the HS mirrored. I wonder if the temp. advantage is secondary to eliminating the nickel coating which is then removed exposing the copper base that is more heat conductive. Since both the Ultra 120 and the processor are frequently not flat, a good thermal paste becomes also very important.

Dr. Paul

BTW, with the Gigabyte MB, it looks like I will need to remove the Crazy Cool heat sink before installing the Ultra 120-Extreme.
Does anyone have experience with this and is it necessary?
Thanks.

linderman

no manufacturing process is as close in tolerance as lapping ......... all heatsinks benefit from lapping

and for the extra $20.00 I dont want to lap them myself any more :( thats an all day job !

i will check to see where I bought my last ones

linderman

crazypc.com was were I bought my lapped ones ..... they are out of stock

here are some (but not lapped)

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/75...l?tl=g40c14s52

the all copper version IMHO is the best ..... but at $109.00 they are hard to find

linderman

http://www.heatsinkfactory.com/therm...pu-cooler.html

linderman

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.ph...&limitstart=18

Dr. Paul

Again, thanks for the assistance.
The copper Ultra 120 is nice, but very heavy. I believe that it is twice the weight of the Extreme being 1900 grams. I would worry about bending the MB.
I will check with Crazypc about there units that are lapped. What do you do about the processor that is not flat also. I guess that Arctic Silver 5 works to make up the difference.
Still checking on the 4850X2. I don't know much about Sapphire units. I am more familiar with Asus. They do have one out, but it is more expensive than two single units set up in CrossFire.

linderman

you found a asus 4850 X2 ????? [please link]

I have never lapped the cpu lid !! thats a total waste of time!

I would not be willing to suffer extra weight of the copper ......... I use the ultra extreme 120mm aluminum on my personal machine

Dr. Paul

Sorry for the confusion. Newegg has the Sapphire 4850X2 for $399.99, not Asus. I am not familiar with Sapphire products so I have some concerns.
In further review, I would agree that the copper HS would be great theoretically, but with the enormous weight, not practical. I will stick with the 120-Extreme and have it lapped by crazypc.
BTW, I downloaded the info that you provided about OC.
Looks like now, I have researched enough and I need to order and then build.
Thanks for all of the assitance. I will return with a follow up when the system is built.
BTW, I assume that Vista 32 Bit would be more practical than 64. The only software that I use is MS Office (Excel, Word, Outlook) and Quicken. The Hardware includes an OKI C5150 printer, HP Photosmart 1315 printer and an
Epson Perfection 2400 Photo, Seagate FreeAgent Pro along with the Logitech keyboard and mouse.
I would also return to XP but most of my data is now written under Vista.
Any thoughts about the choice of OS and bits?
Thanks again and again.

linderman

32 vista ............. I personally am drooling waiting for windows 7

BTW: the saphire cards are of excellent quality

Dr. Paul

Thanks. I am now ready to order. Will follow up when the build is complete or if I have issues.

Much thanks again.