# First Custom Build PC Specs Ok???



## drewster

Hey everyone, I'm saving for my first PC build project. Im into film, animation, as well as gaming. So Adobe up the wazoo, Maya, and the occasional game.
Here are the specs I've put together, could you please let me know how the compatibility looks? ALL suggestions and tech wisdom are GREATLY appreciated! I don't wanna make any mistakes here as it's a lot of money I'm saving to be making mistakes. Thank you much 


*Motherboard*	Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD9

*Power Supply*	Unsure about this was considering: CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2

*Case*	                ANTEC NINE HUNDRED TWO

*Graphics Card*	XFX HD-597X-ENFN Radeon HD 5970 BLACK 4GB
(Considering getting 2, good idea or no?)

*Memory*	        CORSAIR DOMINATOR 12GB (3 x 4GB)

*Harddrive*	        SAMSUNG Spinpoint F4 HD204UI 2TB

*SSD Drive*	        Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC256MAG-1G1 2.5" 256GB

*CPU*	                Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition

*DVD Drive*	        SAMSUNG BLACK SH-S223

*Sound Card*	        Asus Xonar Essence STX


That's it, anything missing? Again, all advice is GREATLY appreciated! Thank you very much


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## joh06937

those are all somewhat overkill. i am not sure entirely what it takes to do film editing and stuff so i'll leave that for someone else. but for gaming, you definitely don't need a 980x or 12 gb of ram (but like i said, i don't know if that would be more for the animation and stuff).

for the psu though, go with this one.


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## linkin

Get a better case that allows for cable management, those Antec cases are horrific. A CoolerMaster HAF 922, 932, 912 or HAF-X come to mind, as well as the CoolerMaster Storm Scout and Storm Sniper cases, also look cases from Lian-Li or Corsair.

If you're doing 3D rendering the 12gb of RAM and 980x are appropriate, and will let you game on maximum settings too.


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## joh06937

how are the antec cases "horrific" for cable management?


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## linkin

Well from what I've seen the 900 and 902 have no space behind the motherboard to route cables. You have a 902 so you probably know about every nook and cranny better than I do.


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## joh06937

i personally think it is a pretty good case for cable management. customization is a completely different story though.


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## drewster

Thanks for the input guys! And may I ask why you suggest the XFX Black Edition XPS-850W-BES? Also, I'm not sure about what wattage I'd need, with the specs I've listed, would this power supply be enough?

As for the case, could you verify the validity behind the information given here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-igk9kT2P8

And if the general consensus remains that the Antec Nine Hundred Two would not be my best option I was also considering the Corsair Obsidian 800D ATX Full Tower. Please keep in mind my knowledge regarding any of these subjects is EXTREMELY limited so all advice and input, regardless of any bias, is greatly appreciated.


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## bomberboysk

drewster said:


> Thanks for the input guys! And may I ask why you suggest the XFX Black Edition XPS-850W-BES? Also, I'm not sure about what wattage I'd need, with the specs I've listed, would this power supply be enough?
> 
> As for the case, could you verify the validity behind the information given here:
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-igk9kT2P8
> 
> And if the general consensus remains that the Antec Nine Hundred Two would not be my best option I was also considering the Corsair Obsidian 800D ATX Full Tower. Please keep in mind my knowledge regarding any of these subjects is EXTREMELY limited so all advice and input, regardless of any bias, is greatly appreciated.



I would suggest against the 800D, at that price level i would suggest looking into the Lian-Li line of cases. The HAF-X is a good case, albeit to some people (myself included) it is not very asthetically pleasing.

850W would struggle to cope with twin 5970's, and along that same line i would suggest not purchasing a 5970 at this point in time, and wait for the HD6000 line of cards to arrive. If you are located domestically, i would suggest going with the TPQ-1200, which is available for $216 from provantage:
http://www.provantage.com/antec-tpq-1200~7ANTS03K.htm

Purchasing 4GB Dimm's of memory is really a waste, as is purchasing Corsair dominator memory. If you really need 12GB of memory, i would suggest purchasing two 6GB kits from a manufacturer such as Mushkin or G.skill. In general, by the time you would need 24GB of memory, the price of 4GB dimm's will have dropped dramatically and we will be on a new platform.

What kind of audio device will you be outputting to? Headphones, or speakers, and what type of setup do you have (eg- what type of headphones/headset or your speaker setup). In general i would tend to recommend going with an HT Omega card over the Asus offering, although both are extremely good cards, it really depends upon intended usage.

Now... Motherboard....the UD9 is extremely overpriced, its not worth the money. I also see you are considering the 980x...stop right here, and i'll offer an alternative solution. The EVGA SR-2 is a dual CPU motherboard, and coupled with some of the lower cost xeon's ($380 for an E5520), which would provide you with 8 cores and 16 threads, which would be a pretty good powerhouse when working with the type of editing you are doing. If you were to go the SR-2 route, there would be numerous things to change, such as case(only a handful of cases are large enough), CPU's, memory, etc. Cost would be probably less than your current build right now, and if you were to go the SR-2 route you could probably go with a liquid cooling setup and still be at a lower price point than your current build.


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## linkin

^ What he said


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## drewster

Oh wow! That HAF-X Lian-Li looks almost identical to the Antec Nine Hundred Two I had been looking at! So I'm guessing the HAF-X is better because of size and cable management?

In looking into the Radeon HD 6000, It seems that it will be released Tuesday, am I correct?

I'm wondering how you decide what kind of RAM you'll get, and in what kind of kit. Would you mind explaining why the 3x 4gb corsair dominator memory is a bad idea? Also do you think you could delve into the benefits of the two 6gb memory, in addition to which company you most highly recommend? As I'd prefer to get the best I possibly can in regards to durability and performance.

In regards to audio, I'd be switching between speakers and headphones. For film editing I would be using speakers, for creating music/playing games I would use headphones (my Triton AX720 headset).

As for that Motherboard, I'd like to go that route, the EVGA SR-2 I mean. Would 2 Intel Xeon X5650 work? Or would the computer be unable to utilize 12 cores?

Due to this change in motherboard, what case(s) would you suggest I look into?

In any and all suggestions, please do not consider money to be a factor, I'll save up as much as I need to and I'm very patient. I'd just really like as perfect a rig for what I do as is possible so that I don't have to worry about updating for awhile.

Thanks again for all the help, I really appreciate it!


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## bomberboysk

drewster said:


> Oh wow! That HAF-X Lian-Li looks almost identical to the Antec Nine Hundred Two I had been looking at! So I'm guessing the HAF-X is better because of size and cable management?
> 
> In looking into the Radeon HD 6000, It seems that it will be released Tuesday, am I correct?
> 
> I'm wondering how you decide what kind of RAM you'll get, and in what kind of kit. Would you mind explaining why the 3x 4gb corsair dominator memory is a bad idea? Also do you think you could delve into the benefits of the two 6gb memory, in addition to which company you most highly recommend? As I'd prefer to get the best I possibly can in regards to durability and performance.
> 
> In regards to audio, I'd be switching between speakers and headphones. For film editing I would be using speakers, for creating music/playing games I would use headphones (my Triton AX720 headset).
> 
> As for that Motherboard, I'd like to go that route, the EVGA SR-2 I mean. Would 2 Intel Xeon X5650 work? Or would the computer be unable to utilize 12 cores?
> 
> Due to this change in motherboard, what case(s) would you suggest I look into?
> 
> In any and all suggestions, please do not consider money to be a factor, I'll save up as much as I need to and I'm very patient. I'd just really like as perfect a rig for what I do as is possible so that I don't have to worry about updating for awhile.
> 
> Thanks again for all the help, I really appreciate it!




For memory, the main reason i would suggest against it is two reasons. 1) It's sold by corsair, so it will be hideously overpriced(in fact, a few months back when corsair still sold their GTX2 dominators, you could get memory from Super Talent using the same IC's and PCB, with a different heatsink, for Half the price. $300 for 6gb vs $600 for the same from corsair), and the fact that High density memory is more expensive per gigabyte. In the case of the SR-2, since you need Six DIMM's of memory, you would be better off with two separate kits as 12GB should suffice for your needs. For SR-2 memory, any of these would be my recommendation (Lower CAS is better, the ridgeback, PI, and Redline would be the two "best" kits due to their CAS6 latencies, but the difference between CL6 and CL7 in real world usage is pretty much nil, so you could save some money going with the backlines):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226121
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226124
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231352
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226030

Between mushkin and Gskill, you really can't beat either company. Both are manufacturers that have high QC standards and an excellent warranty.

For release date on the HD6000 series, I've heard this coming week, unsure as to an exact date though.

There is an extremely limited number of cases that support the SR-2, among them being mountain mods pinnacle 24, which would be my recommendation as far as case is concerned. Bear in mind, these cases are made custom to order, do not include 5.25" bay covers, fans, or fan grilles. For the SR-2 you would want the 10 slot back panel and HPTX motherboard tray:
http://www.mountainmods.com/pinnacle-24-cyo-p-498.html

SR-2 is compatible with any 5500/5600 series Xeon, so yes, the X5650 will work, and you will have a major powerhouse on your hands with that setup:good:

Also, when it comes to SSD's, i would suggest waiting for the SATA III/Sata 6.0Gb/s sandforce SF-2000 controller based drives, impressive stats:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3971/...troller-sf2000-capable-of-500mbs-and-60k-iops

If you are going to be switching between headphones and speakers, the Asus is probably the best best. I'd suggest purchasing the STX before the 31st from newegg, as they are giving away a free Operational Amplifier upgrade kit with the STX until the 31st, which basically gives you a set of 49720MA's to replace the ones already on the card. The STX's have a nice feature with the OpAmp sockets, owners of older cards like creative X-fi's have to solder in new OpAmps if they want to upgrade them.

Also, on a side note. If you work in music creation, I'd highly suggest taking a look at some of Grado labs offerings for headphones, the SR125i's are entry level audiophile headphones at a relatively reasonable price, and far exceed anything that you'll find in the likes of a best buy or consumer store.


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## drewster

Thank you so much for all of this great advice!!

Alrighty for the case I did not seem to have an option for 5.25" bay covers, fans, or fan grills. Here's how it wound up looking when I went through the customization process at http://www.mountainmods.com/CYO_picker.php:

PINNACLE 24

Front Panel:  Standard
Back Panel:  Motherboard specific
Right Panel:  Solid
Top Panel:  Quad
Bottom:  Standard
Motherboard:  HPTX
Acrylic Finish:  UV Blue
Finish:  Brushed Aluminum


So thus far, this is how my specs are looking:

*Motherboard:*  EVGA SR-2
*Power Supply:*  Antec 1200W
*Case:*  Custom Pinnacle 24
*Graphics Card:*  Radeon HD 6000
*Memory:*  two sets of  G.SKILL PI 6GB (3 x 2GB)
*Hard Drive:*  SAMSUNG Spinpoint F4 HD204UI 2TB
*SSD Drive:*  SF-2000
*CPU:*  Intel Xeon X5650 Westmere 6 core    TWO OF THEM
*DVD Drive:*  SAMSUNG BLACK SH-S223
*Sound Card:*  Asus Xonar Essence STX

Any other concerns, ideas, tips, suggestions, etc??

Again, thank you SO much for helping me get this right the first time instead of wasting time saving, just to make silly mistakes.


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## drewster

bomberboysk said:


> For memory, the main reason i would suggest against it is two reasons. 1) It's sold by corsair, so it will be hideously overpriced(in fact, a few months back when corsair still sold their GTX2 dominators, you could get memory from Super Talent using the same IC's and PCB, with a different heatsink, for Half the price. $300 for 6gb vs $600 for the same from corsair), and the fact that High density memory is more expensive per gigabyte. In the case of the SR-2, since you need Six DIMM's of memory, you would be better off with two separate kits as 12GB should suffice for your needs. For SR-2 memory, any of these would be my recommendation (Lower CAS is better, the ridgeback, PI, and Redline would be the two "best" kits due to their CAS6 latencies, but the difference between CL6 and CL7 in real world usage is pretty much nil, so you could save some money going with the backlines):
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226121
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226124
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231352
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226030
> 
> Between mushkin and Gskill, you really can't beat either company. Both are manufacturers that have high QC standards and an excellent warranty.
> 
> For release date on the HD6000 series, I've heard this coming week, unsure as to an exact date though.
> 
> There is an extremely limited number of cases that support the SR-2, among them being mountain mods pinnacle 24, which would be my recommendation as far as case is concerned. Bear in mind, these cases are made custom to order, do not include 5.25" bay covers, fans, or fan grilles. For the SR-2 you would want the 10 slot back panel and HPTX motherboard tray:
> http://www.mountainmods.com/pinnacle-24-cyo-p-498.html
> 
> SR-2 is compatible with any 5500/5600 series Xeon, so yes, the X5650 will work, and you will have a major powerhouse on your hands with that setup:good:
> 
> Also, when it comes to SSD's, i would suggest waiting for the SATA III/Sata 6.0Gb/s sandforce SF-2000 controller based drives, impressive stats:
> http://www.anandtech.com/show/3971/...troller-sf2000-capable-of-500mbs-and-60k-iops
> 
> If you are going to be switching between headphones and speakers, the Asus is probably the best best. I'd suggest purchasing the STX before the 31st from newegg, as they are giving away a free Operational Amplifier upgrade kit with the STX until the 31st, which basically gives you a set of 49720MA's to replace the ones already on the card. The STX's have a nice feature with the OpAmp sockets, owners of older cards like creative X-fi's have to solder in new OpAmps if they want to upgrade them.
> 
> Also, on a side note. If you work in music creation, I'd highly suggest taking a look at some of Grado labs offerings for headphones, the SR125i's are entry level audiophile headphones at a relatively reasonable price, and far exceed anything that you'll find in the likes of a best buy or consumer store.





So am I good to go now? With that list I put up before this, or are there other changes I need to make?


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## bomberboysk

I would suggest the spinpoint F3's over the F4, the F4 are meant to be a lower energy drive vs a higher performance drive, although for 2TB you would need two 1TB F3's.

Also, you still need to consider what you are going to do for processor cooling. At a rig of this caliber i would recommend liquid cooling(which i could help set you up with a list of components), but high end air cooling units would also be good options.

For 5.25" Bay covers, those can be found on their website here:
http://www.mountainmods.com/parts-525-bay-covers-c-21_34_67.html

Fan Grilles:
http://www.mountainmods.com/fans-related-fan-grills-c-36_39.html

Specifically, these would be the brushed finish ones: (If you are using one 5.25" drive, then you will need two 5.25" bay covers)
http://www.mountainmods.com/mountain-mods-alu-brushed-514-bay-cover-p-327.html

What type of noise levels are you looking for? You can go anywhere from high airflow higher noise fans to lower airflow lower noise fans.

Rest of the list looks great (Although, I'd recommend the redlines over the PI right now as they have a good rebate on them)


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## drewster

bomberboysk said:


> I would suggest the spinpoint F3's over the F4, the F4 are meant to be a lower energy drive vs a higher performance drive, although for 2TB you would need two 1TB F3's.
> 
> Also, you still need to consider what you are going to do for processor cooling. At a rig of this caliber i would recommend liquid cooling(which i could help set you up with a list of components), but high end air cooling units would also be good options.
> 
> For 5.25" Bay covers, those can be found on their website here:
> http://www.mountainmods.com/parts-525-bay-covers-c-21_34_67.html
> 
> Fan Grilles:
> http://www.mountainmods.com/fans-related-fan-grills-c-36_39.html
> 
> Specifically, these would be the brushed finish ones: (If you are using one 5.25" drive, then you will need two 5.25" bay covers)
> http://www.mountainmods.com/mountain-mods-alu-brushed-514-bay-cover-p-327.html
> 
> What type of noise levels are you looking for? You can go anywhere from high airflow higher noise fans to lower airflow lower noise fans.
> 
> Rest of the list looks great (Although, I'd recommend the redlines over the PI right now as they have a good rebate on them)




You know what I think I'll just start off with the 1TB F3 and see how long that lasts.

I'd be more comfortable going with the Air cooling, I think I'd mess something up trying to setup water cooling... with my luck I'd probably get water all over everything and short everything out lol.

Of the bay covers and fan grilles, which would get your highest recommendation? Also how many would I need, because I'm not sure how many slots that case is gonna have; I went through the customization but it had no mention of 5.25" bays. Also, you said with one drive I'd need two, so seeing as I'm only starting with that 1TB F3 should I just get two bay covers?

I would imagine the highest airflow would be best correct? I don't mind noise so much. I guess preferably, I'd want the highest airflow possible with the least noise. But whatever you think I'd need to make sure everything always stays cool, because I can always wear earplugs or noise dampening headphones lol.

Thanks again!!


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## Russ88765

The haf-x doesn't have enough usb 2.0 front ports for me. One of the turnoffs to me was the usb 3's, I don't have anything that would make good use of them so it's something I wouldn't use(I would need a hub). I ended up going with the cheaper 932, because at the time I was able to hear more back on that one than the 942.


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## BurningSkyline

Well, If you are going to be using adobe Products why not get a Nvidia card? GTX 470 is the only Geforce 4xx Card Supported as of now for full hardware acceleration, and these are taken straight off the Adobe Website. *CLICK HERE* 
Or you could just get a Quadro. ATi Cards are supported as well, Just take a look at that link. I know nothing about Maya so I really can't say anything there. I don't know if anybody mentioned anything about a fan controller. You would more than likely want one of those  Along with some big, High CFM cans. (I love my 140MM Fans in my case...)

I really like the idea of the Dual Xeons, that would be amazing.

Honestly I don't know too much about (Very?) High end machines so yeah...


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## BillOhio

joh06937 said:


> i personally think it is a pretty good case for cable management. customization is a completely different story though.



The 902 seems to do awesome in reviews and awful on the forums. I like mine a lot but it's the only case I have, so I can't compare. I don't have any major complaints about cable management though.

Nice build, btw.


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## bomberboysk

drewster said:


> You know what I think I'll just start off with the 1TB F3 and see how long that lasts.
> 
> I'd be more comfortable going with the Air cooling, I think I'd mess something up trying to setup water cooling... with my luck I'd probably get water all over everything and short everything out lol.
> 
> Of the bay covers and fan grilles, which would get your highest recommendation? Also how many would I need, because I'm not sure how many slots that case is gonna have; I went through the customization but it had no mention of 5.25" bays. Also, you said with one drive I'd need two, so seeing as I'm only starting with that 1TB F3 should I just get two bay covers?
> 
> I would imagine the highest airflow would be best correct? I don't mind noise so much. I guess preferably, I'd want the highest airflow possible with the least noise. But whatever you think I'd need to make sure everything always stays cool, because I can always wear earplugs or noise dampening headphones lol.
> 
> Thanks again!!


The 5.25" bay covers are for optical drives(DVD/CD drive), the hard drives would use the 3.5" bay.

For higher airflow fans that are moderately reasonable as far as noise, i'd suggest Yate Loon's as case fans since they are available cheaply:
http://www.jab-tech.com/YATE-LOON-120mm-Case-Fan-D12SH-12-High-Speed-pr-3771.html

Or, if you want slightly lower noise fans, these are only 33db vs 40 and only about 15cfm difference:
http://www.jab-tech.com/YATE-LOON-120mm-Case-Fan-D12SM-12-Medium-Speed-pr-3770.html

As far as fan grilles...those are asthetics, pretty much just choose the 120mm that best suits what you would like to see. I'm sorta partial to the standard concentric circles though.

For heatsinks, I'd recommend two of these, although with the SR-2 i would highly suggest liquid cooling although i can understand your hesitation:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608018


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## drewster

bomberboysk said:


> The 5.25" bay covers are for optical drives(DVD/CD drive), the hard drives would use the 3.5" bay.
> 
> For higher airflow fans that are moderately reasonable as far as noise, i'd suggest Yate Loon's as case fans since they are available cheaply:
> http://www.jab-tech.com/YATE-LOON-120mm-Case-Fan-D12SH-12-High-Speed-pr-3771.html
> 
> Or, if you want slightly lower noise fans, these are only 33db vs 40 and only about 15cfm difference:
> http://www.jab-tech.com/YATE-LOON-120mm-Case-Fan-D12SM-12-Medium-Speed-pr-3770.html
> 
> As far as fan grilles...those are asthetics, pretty much just choose the 120mm that best suits what you would like to see. I'm sorta partial to the standard concentric circles though.
> 
> For heatsinks, I'd recommend two of these, although with the SR-2 i would highly suggest liquid cooling although i can understand your hesitation:
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608018



Do you think I'd run into any problems going with just the fans?

Also, for water cooling, is it easy to make mistakes and cause problems? Because I'd like to do it, but I don't wanna bite off more than I can chew and flush thousands of dollars down the toilet lol.

Also, what are your thoughts regarding use of both fans and water cooling?

What is the maintenance on water cooling systems like? Are the mechanics behind it similar to that of an engine? Water absorbs the heat which is than dissipated through a radiator of some sort??

Thanks again for everything!

And thanks everyone else for your input as well!


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## bomberboysk

drewster said:


> Do you think I'd run into any problems going with just the fans?
> 
> Also, for water cooling, is it easy to make mistakes and cause problems? Because I'd like to do it, but I don't wanna bite off more than I can chew and flush thousands of dollars down the toilet lol.
> 
> Also, what are your thoughts regarding use of both fans and water cooling?
> 
> What is the maintenance on water cooling systems like? Are the mechanics behind it similar to that of an engine? Water absorbs the heat which is than dissipated through a radiator of some sort??
> 
> Thanks again for everything!
> 
> And thanks everyone else for your input as well!



Watercooling is exactly the same idea as a car, you would use a radiator with fans, a pump, a reservoir, and waterblocks for the CPU's.

Example in a MM pinnacle, radiator mounted on the front with 3 fans:  http://i551.photobucket.com/albums/ii446/punisher69_photos/IMG_0048.jpg

It's not that difficult to setup as long as you are patient and leak test before using it. Maintenance wise, you need to flush it somewhere around once a year, and its relatively inexpensive to do so(a gallon of distilled water(88 cents at your local walmart) is more than enough water to fill a watercooling loop), plus the basic maintenance of just cleaning the dust from the fins with some canned air every few months. To watercool two CPU's on an SR2 you would probably be looking at somewhere around $400, give or take, depending upon components.

You can run your fans without grilles without issue, just be careful as objects could fall into the fans more easily causing damage to the fan, the object, or both.

And, no problem


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## drewster

bomberboysk said:


> Watercooling is exactly the same idea as a car, you would use a radiator with fans, a pump, a reservoir, and waterblocks for the CPU's.
> 
> Example in a MM pinnacle, radiator mounted on the front with 3 fans:  http://i551.photobucket.com/albums/ii446/punisher69_photos/IMG_0048.jpg
> 
> It's not that difficult to setup as long as you are patient and leak test before using it. Maintenance wise, you need to flush it somewhere around once a year, and its relatively inexpensive to do so(a gallon of distilled water(88 cents at your local walmart) is more than enough water to fill a watercooling loop), plus the basic maintenance of just cleaning the dust from the fins with some canned air every few months. To watercool two CPU's on an SR2 you would probably be looking at somewhere around $400, give or take, depending upon components.
> 
> You can run your fans without grilles without issue, just be careful as objects could fall into the fans more easily causing damage to the fan, the object, or both.
> 
> And, no problem




Oh, I think you misunderstood me, I meant do you think I'd run into any problems using just fans instead of a water cooling system. I have every intention on using grilles. 

I also was wondering if there'd be any clashing if I were to use both fans and a water cooling system. Do you know of any construction guides for water cooling systems? Because I wouldn't even know where to begin.

Also, regarding heat sinks, what should be taken into consideration when deciding how many to purchase, what kinds, and where to put them? Or is this predetermined by the motherboard you buy?

Sorry for the late replies, I've been really busy lately


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## drewster

Also, it was mentioned early that I use a switchboard for the fans... What are your thoughts on this?


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## bomberboysk

drewster said:


> Oh, I think you misunderstood me, I meant do you think I'd run into any problems using just fans instead of a water cooling system. I have every intention on using grilles.
> 
> I also was wondering if there'd be any clashing if I were to use both fans and a water cooling system. Do you know of any construction guides for water cooling systems? Because I wouldn't even know where to begin.
> 
> Also, regarding heat sinks, what should be taken into consideration when deciding how many to purchase, what kinds, and where to put them? Or is this predetermined by the motherboard you buy?
> 
> Sorry for the late replies, I've been really busy lately


Oh, if you are using a water cooling system you would use fans, as the fans are what would push the air through the radiator.

There is a guide in the cooling section here, its pretty dated however covers the basics:
http://www.computerforum.com/35041-liquid-cooling-101-a.html
Many of the things mentioned in that guide are no longer applicable. For instance, in modern liquid cooling setups the recommended coolant is pure distilled water, plus a biocide of some sort( a strip of .999 silver is quite common for use as a biocide), modern radiators are generally a double pass brass and copper setup, and modern waterblocks are generally made of copper, and there is no galvanic corrosion between brass and copper, hence why a corrosion inhibitor is no longer necessary. If you want, i could show you a complete parts list of what a liquid cooling system for your setup would be composed of.

For the SR-2 you would need two heatsinks, as each processor would need a heatsink. You would not need heatsinks if you were to go with a watercooling setup for the processors.


drewster said:


> Also, it was mentioned early that I use a switchboard for the fans... What are your thoughts on this?


A fan controller isn't especially vital, it is helpful if you want to decrease noise levels however as it would allow you to lower the fanspeeds at the cost of an increase in temperature.


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## drewster

bomberboysk said:


> Oh, if you are using a water cooling system you would use fans, as the fans are what would push the air through the radiator.
> 
> There is a guide in the cooling section here, its pretty dated however covers the basics:
> http://www.computerforum.com/35041-liquid-cooling-101-a.html
> Many of the things mentioned in that guide are no longer applicable. For instance, in modern liquid cooling setups the recommended coolant is pure distilled water, plus a biocide of some sort( a strip of .999 silver is quite common for use as a biocide), modern radiators are generally a double pass brass and copper setup, and modern waterblocks are generally made of copper, and there is no galvanic corrosion between brass and copper, hence why a corrosion inhibitor is no longer necessary. If you want, i could show you a complete parts list of what a liquid cooling system for your setup would be composed of.
> 
> For the SR-2 you would need two heatsinks, as each processor would need a heatsink. You would not need heatsinks if you were to go with a watercooling setup for the processors.
> 
> A fan controller isn't especially vital, it is helpful if you want to decrease noise levels however as it would allow you to lower the fanspeeds at the cost of an increase in temperature.



Oh if you could give me that list that'd be awesome! Man, I can't thank you enough for all your help!

Alrighty so heatsinks aren't necessary, would it be a good idea to have them in addition to everything else? Or would that be kind of pointless?

Also, I've been looking into a few other things so if you could review this new list I've got I'd appreciate it.

Motherboard:  EVGA SR-2
PSU:  Antec 1200W
Case:  Custom Pinnacle 24
Graphics Card:  Radeon HD6879 (Two of them)
Memory:  G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (Two of them)
Harddrive: Samsung Spinpoint F3
SSD:  OCZ Agility 2 180GB
CPU:  Intel Xeon X5650 Westmere 6 Core (Two of them)
DVD Drive:  Samsung Black SH-S223
Sound Card:  Asus Xonar Essence STX

Along with the fans, grilles, and the watercooling system


----------



## bomberboysk

drewster said:


> Oh if you could give me that list that'd be awesome! Man, I can't thank you enough for all your help!
> 
> Alrighty so heatsinks aren't necessary, would it be a good idea to have them in addition to everything else? Or would that be kind of pointless?
> 
> Also, I've been looking into a few other things so if you could review this new list I've got I'd appreciate it.
> 
> Motherboard:  EVGA SR-2
> PSU:  Antec 1200W
> Case:  Custom Pinnacle 24
> Graphics Card:  Radeon HD6879 (Two of them)
> Memory:  G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (Two of them)
> Harddrive: Samsung Spinpoint F3
> SSD:  OCZ Agility 2 180GB
> CPU:  Intel Xeon X5650 Westmere 6 Core (Two of them)
> DVD Drive:  Samsung Black SH-S223
> Sound Card:  Asus Xonar Essence STX
> 
> Along with the fans, grilles, and the watercooling system


Since the nvidia price drops, i would suggest going with the GTX 460 1GB, vs the 6870 from AMD, or even waiting until the 6950/6970 cards based on the Cayman core from AMD are out, or the 500 series nVidia cards.

You wouldn't be able to use a heatsink in addition to water, as the water blocks would already be used to dissipate thermal energy from the processors.

For the SR-2, you would want 6GB Memory kits, as it is a tri channel motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226030
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231335
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145286

As far as a watercooling setup, this would be ideal for your setup:

Pump:
http://jab-tech.com/Swiftech-MCP-355-12v-DC-Pump-pr-3510.html

Pump Top/Reservoir:
http://www.jab-tech.com/XSPC-Acrylic-Reservoir-for-Laing-DDC-pr-4123.html

Fittings(x8):
Take your pick, i'm a fan of the Bitspower black sparkle ones myself but it pretty much comes down to whatever you like asthetically:
http://jab-tech.com/Bitspower-True-...-Fitting-1-2-to-3-4-BP-SLCPF-CC5-pr-4400.html
http://jab-tech.com/Bitspower-Black...Fitting-1-2-to-3-4-BP-BSCPFD-CC5-pr-4454.html
http://jab-tech.com/Bitspower-Silver-Compression-Fitting-1-2-to-3-4-pr-4218.html
http://jab-tech.com/Enzotechnology-Compression-Fitting-1-2-3-4-Matt-Black-pr-4686.html
http://jab-tech.com/Enzotechnology-Compression-Fitting-1-2-3-4-Silver-pr-4678.html

Waterblocks (x2): With all factors combined (Price, Flow Rate, Temperature), the Rasa is one of the best blocks out there
http://jab-tech.com/XSPC-Rasa-Black-CPU-Acetal-pr-4752.html

Tubing: 10' would be enough, as well as give you extra to work with if you cut a piece too short
Pick your color, you'll want 1/2x3/4 tubing:
http://www.jab-tech.com/Primochill-Tube-c-319.html

Thermal Interface Material: TIM Consultants TC Grease 0098 is still some of the better stuff available:
http://www.jab-tech.com/Tim-Consultants-T-C-Grease-0098-2.5g-pr-4130.html

Radiator: This sorta depends on your fan choice, go with the XSPC for lower CFM fans, while the HWLabs Black Ice GTX is better with High CFM fans
http://www.jab-tech.com/XSPC-RX360-Triple-120mm-high-performance-radiator-pr-4384.html
http://www.jab-tech.com/Black-Ice-GTX-360-Radiator-pr-3613.html

Biocide: You'll want an 8" strip of silver, you can just coil it and place it in the reservoir
http://www.jab-tech.com/Antimicrobial-Silver-Strip-pr-4530.html


----------



## drewster

bomberboysk said:


> Since the nvidia price drops, i would suggest going with the GTX 460 1GB, vs the 6870 from AMD, or even waiting until the 6950/6970 cards based on the Cayman core from AMD are out, or the 500 series nVidia cards.
> 
> You wouldn't be able to use a heatsink in addition to water, as the water blocks would already be used to dissipate thermal energy from the processors.
> 
> For the SR-2, you would want 6GB Memory kits, as it is a tri channel motherboard:
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226030
> or
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231335
> or
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145286
> 
> As far as a watercooling setup, this would be ideal for your setup:
> 
> Pump:
> http://jab-tech.com/Swiftech-MCP-355-12v-DC-Pump-pr-3510.html
> 
> Pump Top/Reservoir:
> http://www.jab-tech.com/XSPC-Acrylic-Reservoir-for-Laing-DDC-pr-4123.html
> 
> Fittings(x8):
> Take your pick, i'm a fan of the Bitspower black sparkle ones myself but it pretty much comes down to whatever you like asthetically:
> http://jab-tech.com/Bitspower-True-...-Fitting-1-2-to-3-4-BP-SLCPF-CC5-pr-4400.html
> http://jab-tech.com/Bitspower-Black...Fitting-1-2-to-3-4-BP-BSCPFD-CC5-pr-4454.html
> http://jab-tech.com/Bitspower-Silver-Compression-Fitting-1-2-to-3-4-pr-4218.html
> http://jab-tech.com/Enzotechnology-Compression-Fitting-1-2-3-4-Matt-Black-pr-4686.html
> http://jab-tech.com/Enzotechnology-Compression-Fitting-1-2-3-4-Silver-pr-4678.html
> 
> Waterblocks (x2): With all factors combined (Price, Flow Rate, Temperature), the Rasa is one of the best blocks out there
> http://jab-tech.com/XSPC-Rasa-Black-CPU-Acetal-pr-4752.html
> 
> Tubing: 10' would be enough, as well as give you extra to work with if you cut a piece too short
> Pick your color, you'll want 1/2x3/4 tubing:
> http://www.jab-tech.com/Primochill-Tube-c-319.html
> 
> Thermal Interface Material: TIM Consultants TC Grease 0098 is still some of the better stuff available:
> http://www.jab-tech.com/Tim-Consultants-T-C-Grease-0098-2.5g-pr-4130.html
> 
> Radiator: This sorta depends on your fan choice, go with the XSPC for lower CFM fans, while the HWLabs Black Ice GTX is better with High CFM fans
> http://www.jab-tech.com/XSPC-RX360-Triple-120mm-high-performance-radiator-pr-4384.html
> http://www.jab-tech.com/Black-Ice-GTX-360-Radiator-pr-3613.html
> 
> Biocide: You'll want an 8" strip of silver, you can just coil it and place it in the reservoir
> http://www.jab-tech.com/Antimicrobial-Silver-Strip-pr-4530.html



Sorry, I just realized I had put Radeon HD 6879 instead of 6870. Alrighty, well how would you say the 6870 compares performance-wise with the others you suggested?

Also, for the Radiator, which would you suggest for these fans?:
http://www.mountainmods.com/logisys-120mm-quad-blue-led-fan-p-105.html


----------



## bomberboysk

drewster said:


> Sorry, I just realized I had put Radeon HD 6879 instead of 6870. Alrighty, well how would you say the 6870 compares performance-wise with the others you suggested?
> 
> Also, for the Radiator, which would you suggest for these fans?:
> http://www.mountainmods.com/logisys-120mm-quad-blue-led-fan-p-105.html



I would suggest against those fans, for LED fans i would highly suggest yate loon high speed's, the fans are only $3.95 if you select "No Changes (Stock, Unsleeved)", Blue, Red, and Green LED fans are available from yate loon:
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=27150
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=27143
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=27144

In which case, i would recommend the XSPC RX radiator, and would recommend going with six fans (Push/Pull, fans on either side of the radiator). To mount the fans you would need some radiator screws(one set per fan):
http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...e=product_info&cPath=60_236&products_id=28297

The GTX 460 would be slightly slower than the 6870, but has the advantage of being CUDA compatible. Another good option, especially since using adobe products, would be the GTX 470 (The only officially supported DX11 GPU by adobe). The 6900 series and 5xx Series that are coming out would be at the top of the line when it comes to performance.


----------



## drewster

Would the XSPC RX360 work? I googled XSPC RX and it came up with 2 kinds.


----------



## drewster

Also, what is CUDA compatability? And what are the benefits?


----------



## bomberboysk

drewster said:


> Would the XSPC RX360 work? I googled XSPC RX and it came up with 2 kinds.


Yes, the RX360 is the radiator i was referring to (Previously i had linked both a HWlabs Black ice GTX as well as an XSPC RX360,and was referring back to it, sorry to confuse you)


drewster said:


> Also, what is CUDA compatability? And what are the benefits?


It stands for Compute Unified Device Architecture, it's a GPGPU algorithm that allows some processes to be offloaded from the CPU onto the GPU, which largely accelerates some programs(GPU's are on the order of up to 50 times faster than a CPU in some applications). CUDA is also what allows nVidia cards to perform so well at distributed computing tasks suck as Folding@Home.


----------



## drewster

bomberboysk said:


> Yes, the RX360 is the radiator i was referring to (Previously i had linked both a HWlabs Black ice GTX as well as an XSPC RX360,and was referring back to it, sorry to confuse you)
> 
> It stands for Compute Unified Device Architecture, it's a GPGPU algorithm that allows some processes to be offloaded from the CPU onto the GPU, which largely accelerates some programs(GPU's are on the order of up to 50 times faster than a CPU in some applications). CUDA is also what allows nVidia cards to perform so well at distributed computing tasks suck as Folding@Home.





Oh no worries, thanks for clearing that up! Alrighty, RX360 it is.

So, would the CUDA compatability be your highest recommendation? Seeing as I'll be using After Effects and Photoshop? Would that be the best way to go?


----------



## bomberboysk

drewster said:


> Oh no worries, thanks for clearing that up! Alrighty, RX360 it is.
> 
> So, would the CUDA compatability be your highest recommendation? Seeing as I'll be using After Effects and Photoshop? Would that be the best way to go?



I would highly recommend a CUDA compatible GPU, and the 470 is currently the only GTX4__ GPU that officially supports after effects, And photoshop will use OpenGL acceleration on pretty much any modern video card.


----------



## drewster

Again, I am SOOOOO sorry for this EXTREMELY late reply, but I've been caught up in SO much, what with work, full-time student, best buddies, and guitar. But based of your last response, instead of getting 2 radeon hd 6870s I should get 2 GeForce GTX 470s correct?


----------



## drewster

Also, I know this conversation has mainly been between myself and bomberboysk, however input from others is also appreciated.


----------



## drewster

So if I've got everything correct, this is what it looks like I'll be getting.

*PC SETUP*

*PSU:*  ANTEC 1200W
*Case:*  Custom Pinnacle 24
*Graphics Card:*  Geforce GTX 470 TWO OF THEM
*Memory:*  G.SKILL PI Series 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 TWO OF THEM
*Harddrive:*  SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB
*SSD Drive:*  OCZ Agility 2 OCZSSD2-2AGTE180G 2.5"
*CPU:*  Intel Xeon X5650 Westmere 6 core TWO OF THEM
*DVD Drive:*  SAMSUNG BLACK SH-S223
*Sound Card:*  Asus Xonar Essence STX
*Fans:*  Yate Loon CLEAR 120mm High Speed Silent Case Fan with Blue LED  Not sure how many I need
*Fan Grilles:*  120mm Chrome  Also not sure how many


*WATERCOOLING SYSTEM*

*Pump:* Swiftech MCP 355 12v DC Pump
*Top Reservoir:* XSPC - Acrylic Reservoir for Laing DDC
*Fittings:* Bitspower Black Sparkle Compression Fitting   (X8)
*Waterblocks:* XSPC Rasa Black CPU Acetal   (X2)
*Tubing:* PrimoFlex Pro LRT UV Blue Tubing - 1/2in. ID X 3/4in. OD
*TIM:* Tim Consultants T-C Grease 0098 - 2.5g
*Radiator:* XSPC RX360 - Triple 120mm high performance radiator
*Biocide:* Antimicrobial Silver Strip


----------



## drewster

You there bomberboysk, or anyone?


----------



## Russ88765

/points to edit button

Are you getting two 6gb ram kits? Two cpu's? You're missing the motherboard, and depending on which one you get, you won't need a soundcard. Why get case fans and a full watercooling setup? Isn't that a little much?


----------



## drewster

Oh sorry, the motherboard is the EVGA SR-2. And the only reason I was going with watercooling is because bomberboysk was saying that'd be the best way to go and I didn't want to take any risks by going with just heat sinks. Unless you think I'd be fine with heat sinks


----------



## Drenlin

The SR-2 does run pretty hot when overclocked. I can't see a W/C system being useful at stock clocks, though.

That's going to be a monster of a build!


----------



## drewster

Yeah I'm not gonna do any overclocking or anything, just stock. Yeah and I wanna start buying everything but I wanna make sure everything checks out ok first. And it would be less stress for me if I could go with plain heat sinks that way I don't have to mess with any water. So what would you guys think is best?


----------



## drewster

And I'm sorry if my questions are remedial, I've never done this before and if I'm gonna spend this much I wanna make sure I measure twice cut once. I wanna get it all right the first time without making any costly errors.


----------



## Drenlin

Nothing wrong with being thorough. 

Yeah, if you're just running everything at stock clocks, you should be perfectly ok with air cooling. There aren't any cases with bad airflow that will fit an SR-2, so no worries there. Get a couple of good coolers for the CPU's and you're good to go. :good:


----------



## drewster

Cool! Ok so does the motherboard come with its own heat sinks? Also, what coolers would you suggest for the CPUs? I'm looking for the best mind you.


----------



## Drenlin

It doesn't come with any, no. Heat sinks normally come either with the processor, or as separate units, though I think most Xeons don't come with one. Any good one will be separate.

This is a pretty good list of what to look for:
http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm


----------



## drewster

Alrighty so in that case, what CPU coolers and what heat sinks would get your highest recommendation?


----------



## drewster

Wait are CPU coolers and heatsinks the same thing? And after little research into heatsinks the Noctua NH-C14 Heatsink seems like a solid product. What are your thoughts?


----------



## Drenlin

A CPU cooler_ is_ a heat sink...in this case the two terms are referring to the same thing.

The ones on that list I posted above are all pretty good. Any of them would work. Personally, I'm fond of the Tuniq Tower 120 extreme, mostly because it looks awesome.


----------



## drewster

Awesome! So all I need is that heatsink and then I'm ready to start buying and putting together my PC?


----------



## Drenlin

Pretty much, yeah.

The Noctua you mentioned is also a very good cooler, by the way, if you'd rather get it. Any of the ones on that list should keep your cpu's at relatively low temperatures.


----------



## drewster

Sweet!! Thank you very much! Nothing else I need to worry about or get?


----------



## bomberboysk

For the SR-2, i would definately recommend the coolermaster V6 heatsinks, they are excellent heatsinks, come with excellent fans,will handle those Xeons up to ~4Ghz or so, and look quite sleek as well as being pretty moderately priced.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&cm_re=Coolermaster_V6-_-35-103-089-_-Product
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&cm_re=Coolermaster_V6-_-35-103-088-_-Product

The GT has LED's on the top, is nickel plated, and comes with an extra fan. If you aren't planning on overclocking, the regular V6 is plenty sufficient, plus you can always add a second fan to it down the road.

As far as GPU's, its been a few months since you looked at hardware, want to post a list of what you've so far decided as your tentatively final build?


----------



## drewster

Alrighty, I am very sorry for the LONG absence. It's been a long time, but I would like to have this computer paid for and built by December. I hope everything is in order. If there's anything else I'm missing, any tips, critiques, etc, I would GREATLY appreciate advice. This is a GOOD chunk of change I will be spending and I do not want a penny of it wasted.

*Case:* Custom Pinnacle 24
*Motherboard:* EVGA SR-2
*Power Supply:* ANTEC 1200W
*Graphics Card:* GeForce GTX 560 (Two of them)
*Memory:* G.SKILL PI Series 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3
*Harddrive:* Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB
*SSD Drive:* OCZ Agility 2 OCZSSD2-2AGTE180G 2.5"
*CPU:* Intel Xeon X5650 Westmere 6 core (Two of them)
*DVD Drive:* Samsung Black SH-S223
*Sound Card:* HT Omega Claro Plus
*Fans:* Yate Loon CLEAR 120mm High Speed w/Blue LED (multiple lol)
*Heatsinks:* ZALMAN CNPS9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler (Two of them)

I worry about the heatsink situation, as I will need two heatsinks, and I'm not sure how the ZALMAN will fit, let alone TWO of them. 

Again, any help I can get would be GREATLY appreciated! And thank you all for all the help up to this point!!


----------



## ixiboneheadixi

maybe up the graphics card to two 580s or 590s? and maybe go for 8 gb of ram instead of 6?


----------



## drewster

Alrighty, and as for the heatsinks? Any suggestions? Regarding how the heatsinks will fit relative to everything else I will have in there, and anything else you can think of? Thanks again!


----------



## salvage-this

ixiboneheadixi said:


> maybe up the graphics card to two 580s or 590s? and maybe go for 8 gb of ram instead of 6?



If I am right the SR-2 that he is using 2 sockets that can run with triple channel.  So if he wants to take advantage of that his options are either

1.  2 (3x1gb) = 6gb total
2.  2 (3x2gb) = 12gb total

Given how cheap RAM is now and what applications the OP is going to be running I would suggest getting 12gb.  It is overkill but I thnk 6gb is kind of on the edge for design programs.  Just my opinion

@drewster
The heatsinks that bomberboysk linked are great coolers.  Should fit nicely on your board.  If you are really worried about space you can go for something like the H60, or other closed systems like it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181015

EDIT:  if you are getting the 560ti, go for the 2gb model.


----------



## jonnyp11

isn't the 1220w overkill, asking just to make sure cuz idk how the power consumption is on the dual-socket boards, but even so i can't see 2 xeons and 2 560's using even 1000w, since a 2500k with 2 gtx560ti's we normally recomend a 750-800w corsair or antec psu


----------



## drewster

It's actually a 1200 watt, but that's just what's been suggested to me many times. I never got around to actually doing the math myself. Also, as for the memory, I was looking at the G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 12GB (3 x 4GB):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231405

However, I am unsure as to the compatibility. I found a memory compatibility list for the SR-2 on EVGA.com, but I do not know what makes the memory they specify to be compatible. 

I would really like the heatsink I named above just for the cool blue LED... I guess I'll see if I can get some more info as to how those would fit with everything.


----------



## jonnyp11

actually you have to get independint ram for each cpu so look at this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231350

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231260

would take the 1600mhz for +10, should support it since it says 1333+, and the 1220 was a typo, double tapped 2 instead of 0.


----------



## salvage-this

drewster said:


> Also, as for the memory, I was looking at the G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 12GB (3 x 4GB):
> 
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231405



I don't think that would be a good idea.  I am not completely sure on this (other members correct me if I am wrong) but I think that the memory that is on the channels closest to the processor are dedicated to that CPU.  2 sets of 3x2gb would be better.  

Again other members please correct me if I am wrong!


----------



## drewster

@ johnnyp11
Are you positive those are compatible with the SR-2? I'm just not understanding how that memory compatibility sheet on EVGA is formulated...

@ salvage-this
Thanks for the heads up!


----------



## wolfeking

salvage-this said:


> I don't think that would be a good idea.  I am not completely sure on this (other members correct me if I am wrong) but I think that the memory that is on the channels closest to the processor are dedicated to that CPU.  2 sets of 3x2gb would be better.
> 
> Again other members please correct me if I am wrong!


I am not sure with multi CPU setups on a single board, But I do know that on single CPU boards, the channel closer to the CPU gets accessed by the CPU first. So, I would think so that what you are saying would also be true.


----------



## drewster

Alright so, the memory question is still up in the air.

As for the cpu coolers,
The dimensions of the CoolerMaster V6 are:

(131.5 x 120 x 165 mm)

Dimensions for the Zalman CNPS9700 LED are:

90(L) x 124(W) x 142(H) mm

Therefore, seeing as two Cooler Master v6s fit, so should two Zalmans correct?


ANOTHER thing I was debating is whether or not I should leave the predominant AIR cooling, but maybe get a watercooling kit for JUST the CPUs... any thoughts on this?


----------



## drewster

These are the last few issues I gotta clear, and if I could get to where I have this thing built by December, that would be IDEAL!


----------



## drewster

Also, I have another contender for memory. Would it work and/or be wise to utilize two of these sets?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231408


----------



## jonnyp11

i really don't think it can use that speed ram and even if it can i don't think it's worth the cost for 2000mhz ram, especially since it will either make it run as 1866 or 2133mhz ram because of something to do with the cpu not being able to use that frequency.


----------



## salvage-this

24gb is way overkill

I would go for 2 of these
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231335


----------



## jonnyp11

jonnyp11 said:


> actually you have to get independint ram for each cpu so look at this
> 
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231350
> 
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231260
> 
> would take the 1600mhz for +10, should support it since it says 1333+, and the 1220 was a typo, double tapped 2 instead of 0.



again, this would be plenty.


----------



## StrangleHold

Man, this thread has got way out of hand. Considering this thread started almost a year ago. The board and two X5650 will run over 2500 bucks. You do know SandyBridge has been released since then. SandyBridge-E will be out soon and IvyBridge will be out by the first of the year. Or even on the AMD side, Bulldozer will be out next month. There is no way I would spend that much, on what could be really be called dated hardware. 

Hell a 2600K with a good socket 1155 board would run around 500/525 bucks and would do what your wanting.


----------



## drewster

Yeah but I'm going for enthusiast level here. Money is not something I'm worrying about. I want those 12 cores two xeon x5650s will give me, the SR-2 can support two of those. Keep in mind I'm not only doing 3d animation, I'm also doing HD video editing, extensive use of Adobe products such as Adobe After Effects and Adobe Photoshop, as well as the occasional PC gaming. I mean for 3d animation alone, you can never have enough cores for the rendering, ESPECIALLY with photo-realism.


----------



## drewster

So, given what I will be using this for, if the general consensus is that 24GB RAM is still extreme overkill, I'll do without it. But if it's a good idea to have given my circumstances, perhaps one or two sets of these?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145332

They fit the processors limit of DDR3-1333
However on the list of supported memory for the SR-2 there is a corsair model listed as such:

CMX8GX3M4A1333C9 Ver5.1

compared to the model I linked to above which is:

CMX12GX3M3A1333C9

do the small differences cause for the memory to be unusable on the SR-2?
The 12 before the GX instead of an 8, the 3 before the "A" instead of a 4, and the lack of (Ver5.1) at the end? I was thinking perhaps the difference in those numbers was due to the difference in number of sticks, and memory one each stick.

Thanks again for all the help!!


Also, any other thoughts regarding the CPU cooler I chose? As well as my logic as to why two of them would fit onto the SR-2? I don't want to get heatsinks that won't with everything else.


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## drewster

I had copied down the wrong CPU, I'm planning on getting two of these:

Intel Xeon E5645 Westmere-EP 2.4GHz 6 x 256KB L2 Cache 12MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 80W Six-Core Server Processor BX80614E5645


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## drewster

Here's another idea for Memory:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104170


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## bomberboysk

As far as the price for what you're looking to do, I would go along with what Stranglehold has suggested, and go for a built based on Sandy Bridge. A Good Z68 board and an i7 2600k would do what you're looking for pretty well, and would save a considerable amount of money over the purchase of an SR-2, Two Xeons, and an HPTX supporting case...

At the time this thread was started, an SR-2 would have been a decent option...but at this time, the 1366 platform is rather dated in terms of what is available on the market currently.


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## drewster

Alrighty, so as far as price is concerned this new idea is the best way to go, but disregarding price, is the SR-2 plan the better way to go performance-wise?


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## StrangleHold

drewster said:


> So if I've got everything correct, this is what it looks like I'll be getting.
> 
> *PC SETUP*
> 
> *PSU:* ANTEC 1200W
> *Case:* Custom Pinnacle 24
> *Graphics Card:* Geforce GTX 470 TWO OF THEM
> *Memory:* G.SKILL PI Series 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 TWO OF THEM
> *Harddrive:* SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB
> *SSD Drive:* OCZ Agility 2 OCZSSD2-2AGTE180G 2.5"
> *CPU:* Intel Xeon X5650 Westmere 6 core TWO OF THEM
> *DVD Drive:* SAMSUNG BLACK SH-S223
> *Sound Card:* Asus Xonar Essence STX
> *Fans:* Yate Loon CLEAR 120mm High Speed Silent Case Fan with Blue LED Not sure how many I need
> *Fan Grilles:* 120mm Chrome Also not sure how many
> 
> 
> *WATERCOOLING SYSTEM*
> 
> *Pump:* Swiftech MCP 355 12v DC Pump
> *Top Reservoir:* XSPC - Acrylic Reservoir for Laing DDC
> *Fittings:* Bitspower Black Sparkle Compression Fitting (X8)
> *Waterblocks:* XSPC Rasa Black CPU Acetal (X2)
> *Tubing:* PrimoFlex Pro LRT UV Blue Tubing - 1/2in. ID X 3/4in. OD
> *TIM:* Tim Consultants T-C Grease 0098 - 2.5g
> *Radiator:* XSPC RX360 - Triple 120mm high performance radiator
> *Biocide:* Antimicrobial Silver Strip


 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112342
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146068
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163154
or, if you like the sorta military look.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119239
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128513
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231456
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233191
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136891
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125364
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118050
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703022
If you think there is a reason you need more wattage.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139014
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835209049

Or wait for SandyBridge-E or Zambezi.


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## jonnyp11

or ivy too


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## wolfeking

drewster said:


> is the SR-2 plan the better way to go performance-wise?


Only in Highly threaded applications, and things that eat memory like theres no tomorrow.    A SB processor will do more processing per cycle, and OCd will end up faster too.  And the memory is not really important, and nothing short of a server that loads everything in RAM will not use more than 16GB anyway.


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## drewster

Sheesh!! Thanks StrangleHold! Laying it all out like that, links and everything! Ok so here's the story now...

I'm going to be using this computer for 3D modeling/animation, extensive Adobe work, HD video editing, as well as the occasional intense game.
I want this computer built by December of this year.

So these are the contestants. Without cost bias, please tell me which is best for my situation, as that is all I'm worried about.

*COMPUTER 1*
*Case:* 
COOLER MASTER HAF X Blue Edition

*Motherboard:* 
GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD5

*PSU:* 
CORSAIR Professional Series Gold AX1200

*Graphics Card:* 
GIGABYTE GV-N580UD-15I GeForce GTX 580

*Memory:* 
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (4 x 4GB)

*Harddrive:* 
Western Digital Caviar Green WD20EARX 2TB

*SDD:* 
Corsair Force Series GT CSSD-F120GBGT-BK 2.5" 120GB

*CPU:*
Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz

*Optical Drive:*
SONY Black 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE 8X DVD+R 5X DVD-RAM 8X BD-ROM



*COMPUTER 2*
*Case:*
Custom Pinnacle 24

*Motherboard:*
EVGA SR-2

*PSU:*
ANTEC 1200W

*Graphics Card:*
TWO GeForce GTX 560

*Memory:*
TWO sets of Kingston HyperX 24GB (6 x 4GB)

*Harddrive:*
Western Digital Caviar Green WD20EARX 2TB

*SDD:*
OCZ Agility 2 OCZSSD3-2AGT180G 3.5" 180GB

*CPU:*
TWO Intel Xeon E5645 Westmere-EP 2.4GHz

*Optical Drive:*
SONY Black 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE 8X DVD+R 5X DVD-RAM 8X BD-ROM




Again, thank you all so much for all your help!


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## jonnyp11

1 is best, but 1200w is pure overkill no matter how you look at it unless you plan to run quad 570's or something like that man.

also don't get caviar green, it is slower than crap, either get a blue at least, pref a samsung or cav black 7200rpm, best option is 2 samsung f3's or caviar blacks 1tb's running in raid 0, will be wayy faster, not near ssd, but still blazing fast for a mechanical hdd.


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## StrangleHold

jonnyp11 said:


> also don't get caviar green, it is slower than crap, either get a blue at least, pref a samsung or cav black 7200rpm, best option is 2 samsung f3's or caviar blacks 1tb's running in raid 0, will be wayy faster, not near ssd, but still blazing fast for a mechanical hdd.


 
The W/D green 2TB. is for a storage drive, will work just fine. The build has a 120gb. SSD.


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## ixiboneheadixi

maybe get a worksation graphics card instead? they are suppose to be a lot better at the 3d and animation stuff


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## drewster

Ok, so what PSU wattage should I go with?


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## jonnyp11

for a single card on the first go with say a corsair tx650 or an antec/xfx/pc p&c/seasonic/silverstone of the same watts, for the second with the dual xeons or whatever i'd say closer to a 750 or 800, i think those xeons are about 100-125w

and for the drives i was saying that since he is going for such an expensive and powerful setup he might as well have faster storage drives too, i mean for how much he's spending another 60 or so can't really hurt for a good speed boost.


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## drewster

Awesome guys!! Ok! So 800W... nothing else I need to worry about? Any other things I should double check, or high points of interest I should be especially cautious about?


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## ixiboneheadixi

i still say a workstation card for what your doing


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## drewster

OH!! One last thing, we never got around to figuring exactly what memory I should go with. Ideas were thrown around, but what's the general consensus as to what memory I should go with?


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## jonnyp11

wait, which socket did you decide on, that's the main decider, but i know we were saying 1600mhz and either 8 or 12gb's would be plenty.


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