Hey guys, you all seem class act fellas, and after reading most of the articles and everything on this site I felt i'd ask all of you personally for tips on building my first computer. Right now I have my eye on the Barton 2500, the Asus A78NX Deluxe, PC 3200 GeIL Golden Dragon 512 DDR, a Diamond Max 9 60 gig HD. I'm not quite sure on the HSF yet, I want to overclock so I am going to need a cheap case I can mod, window prefered, with good flow. I have a Radeon 9500 Pro already that I just purchased a few weeks ago, I plan on using that. So if you could give me a few ideas, I would appriciate it.

-'Chimp

well, goto some place like www.directron.com or a similar site that offers great deals and see if you can find something you want there. As long as you don't have lots of wires in your case airflow will not be a problem.

You said you were looking at overclocking, well when you buying your case i would also consider buying one that can fit a water cooling system if you decide you want one later.

I have a mid tower (I think thats right, you can look at my pics). but wish i had a full tower so i could put all my water cooling components in.

my only advice is to find out how the case comes apart, how you screw drives in, and weight. Those are really the major differences in cases (in my opinion).

Swiftech makes some really nice heatsinks, as does Thermalright. Notice, ThermalRIGHT not ThermalTAKE. Browse around those, you cannot make a mistake going with either of those brands. www.case-mod.com has cheap prices on Thermalright heatsinks right now, so check them out.

Here are some good sites for cases and such:

www.xoxide.com
www.svc.com
www.coolerguys.com
www.newegg.com
www.case-mod.com
www.directron.com

Browse around, make sure the case has some good intake(at least dual 80mm) or at least make sure it has room them. Reccomending a case doesn't really work, everyone has their own tastes and opinions so just browse around.

forgot, alpha makes some really nice heatsinks too.

The guys are right.. cant go wrong with ThermalRight, thermalright thermalright.

Pic up a SLk-800 @ www.svc.com form 29.99.. and make sure and couple it with a high flow 80mm fan... and your off to the races.

EDIT--- fixed link

that link doesn't work

We all know scape meant to type www.sVC.com

And as for the fan, go with a Tornado and couple it with a controller. You may want to look into a fan controller right away unless you just want to control your CPU fan, then a single rheobus switch would work.

SLK-800 All the way!

If you move the computer alot, consider the bolt on version of the SLK-800(U), because the clip on version is heavy enough to rip your ZIF socket (CPU socket) straight out of the motherboard.
The bolt on version requires four mounting holes around the CPU socket, if your motherboard does not have them, you will have to use the SLK-800A.

SLK-800A: $34@SVC.Com

SLK-800U: $38@SVC.Com

As for a fan, the Variable Speed YS-Tech 80MM is great, depending on setting, it is 10.2~48.5CFM.

48CFM YS Tech Fan: $9@SVC.Com

ya the slk 800u would probly be the best choise and a TMD fan would top it off prefectly

The SLK-800 is probably the best heatsink on the market right now. Excellent cooling properties and can accomodate a wide range of fans. My personal choice would be an 800 with a TMD fan.

I never was a believer in TMD until I reviewed one. Yes, it pushes a lot less CFM, but it pushes all the air directly on top of the heatsink and is almost dead quiet. The TMD performed as well as another high CFM 80mm I used.

You guys really are the best! Thanks for all the help! Anyways I do appricate all the advice from you guys.

Anyways this is the case I was looking at : http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...ion=11-150-044 . Look like a quality case for a good price.

So I was thinking about lighting to go along with an oriental dragon theme, to couple with the Golden Dragon RAM , which is located HERE - http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...ion=20-144-607 . Any suggestions for lighting up my case? I want a nice red color to complement the dragon grills. I was looking into LED fans and CCLK's but I'm not sure how much of each I am going to need to light up the case while keeping my comp cool.

Well you have all been a great help! Thanks for sharing your thoughts I really appriciate it

- 'Chimp

Quote: Originally posted by BigAkita I never was a believer in TMD until I reviewed one. Yes, it pushes a lot less CFM, but it pushes all the air directly on top of the heatsink and is almost dead quiet. The TMD performed as well as another high CFM 80mm I used.

BA is absolutly right on this point.... ive had a TMD fan on my ThermalRight SK-7 for about 8 months now. on my 2600+ Its a real beaut .... the smaller hub makes for a smaller dead zone than traditional fans... making up for the lower CFM..... plus you cant overlook the quietneess....

A quick point if you do end up using a TMD fan... make sure not to overtighten the screws on it or it will kill is.. (though this is not an issue with the Thermalright sinks.

On the case... i havent used that particular one..... but it does apprear to have plenty of airflow... maybe consider modding the front intake to a 120MM fan ?

Quote: On the case... i havent used that particular one..... but it does apprear to have plenty of airflow... maybe consider modding the front intake to a 120MM fan ?

Hmmmmmmm....... sounds Pimpalicious !

-'Chimp

So is the problem of tmd fans frying over now? I read the first ones out had a tendency to stop working..

And where can you get the TMD fans individually. Been searching and I cant find one.

Case looks good, price is resonable 350w power supply should do it, i think, a lot of premods though, i personally will never buy another case without drive rails(is that the name)
i like lots of removable mounting things

Ditto I cannot seem to find those TMD fans, could you direct me to a site?

-'Chimp

Quote: Originally posted by hawklen So is the problem of tmd fans frying over now? I read the first ones out had a tendency to stop working..

The major problem was people overtightening the fans when they where screwing them in.... As it is a TMD (tip magntic driven) meaning all of the magnets and parts are in the out casing... with people overtightning the casing it was breaking or restricting the revolutions

i have one of the first gen TMD fans and its been working just fine for the past year.. no problem

Quote: Originally posted by scapegoat The major problem was people overtightening the fans when they where screwing them in.... As it is a TMD (tip magntic driven) meaning all of the magnets and parts are in the out casing... with people overtightning the casing it was breaking or restricting the revolutions i have one of the first gen TMD fans and its been working just fine for the past year.. no problem

Cool, thanks for the information. Eventually I'll get on of those, replace my loud thermaltake smartfan2