Gaming Build Check

4.5ghz at 70c on an ivy is relatively easy with the matterhorn pure
i wouldnt go on a bender wasting money on fans.

ps: your prices are out of date btw. just saying.
What's the safe voltage that I should use max without damaging the chip?

I quoted the components code from a different topic that had the same build but the topic is made a month ago

Yeah your fans are fine, keep your £50.
If I replaced the fans, how many °C could I drop? (Just wondering)
 
i wouldnt go anything higher than 1.45v, the lower the better. a 4.5ghz oc is very respectable.
I know every i5 3570K chip is different but would I get 4.5GHz under 1.45v?

Do you know what's the maximum GHz that is gained on the i5 3570K? Or over which GHz will not feel any difference at all?

auto control via mobo
So I don't have control of the two fans which are connected to the motherboard?
 
I know every i5 3570K chip is different but would I get 4.5GHz under 1.45v?

Do you know what's the maximum GHz that is gained on the i5 3570K? Or over which GHz will not feel any difference at all?

could probably hit 4.5 on 1.35v or less tbh
well most games will be gpu limited before being cpu limited, so...

So I don't have control of the two fans which are connected to the motherboard?

ya
 
Well I know Tammzy has never used the Z9 case, so i'll offer some more hands on experience. I have recently installed a Bitfenix 5 channel fan controller and added two 140mm Bitfenix spectre pro fans to do an end user review. I'm still writing up my thoughts and need to upload the pics etc but I can share my thoughts quickly with you now :D

On the stock fan setup my 555BE @4Ghz on a gelid tranquillo heatsink, peaked at 45 deg. With 5 fans (3 120mm zalman LED, 2 140mm bitfenix LED), I set all of the fans to minimum on the fan controller and got the same temps with the rig being a lot quieter.

If I set the sliders to max it knocked 5/6 deg off the max temp under the same benchmarking. I also noticed that the GPU ran cooler, no doubt because there was now a fan at the bottom of the case pulling in cool air.

Is this only "marginal" improvement? I guess that depends on the individual. The zalman fans aren't bad and have a good bright LED. The Bitfenix fans are better and shift more air, I'm able to turn off their LEDs via the fan controller too which is a nice touch.....so yes I am tempted to replace the remaining Zalman fans.

Your setup is different though. I always suggest a modular PSU in midi towers, you sadly don't have one so you will no doubt have a mess of cables hidden at the front of the case in the HDD bay. These cables are blocking airflow which isn't great :(

Before you start spending money, see what temps you get and how far you can push your CPU on the stock setup. If you are not happy with the temps, I would suggest adding two 4pin (PWM) fans to your matterhorn heatsink (I can only mount one fan on my gelid heatsink) and move the old heatsink fan to the bottom of the case if you can, to get more air in the case.

If noise bothers you then you can cut the hexagonal mesh out that covers the fans. It doesnt cost you anything but time and it definately improves airflow and decreases fan noise. If you want to add a fan controller at some point that's cool it's a nice addition but your first port of call should be to maximise the cooling on the heatsink itself.
 
could probably hit 4.5 on 1.35v or less tbh
well most games will be gpu limited before being cpu limited, so...
I'll give the i5 3570K a try on overclock to 4.5GHz and try overclock the HD 7850 as well to gain more performance when gaming

If I set the sliders to max it knocked 5/6 deg off the max temp under the same benchmarking. I also noticed that the GPU ran cooler, no doubt because there was now a fan at the bottom of the case pulling in cool air.
Since the Zalman Z9 Plus case has 7 fans mount, removing the two fans from the side panel as it will make a rattling noise that will be 5 fans, two fans at the top, one fan at the back and one fan at the front, is it needed to have a fan at the bottom?

Is this only "marginal" improvement? I guess that depends on the individual. The zalman fans aren't bad and have a good bright LED. The Bitfenix fans are better and shift more air, I'm able to turn off their LEDs via the fan controller too which is a nice touch.....so yes I am tempted to replace the remaining Zalman fans.
I use the PC daily around 5-6 hours a day, I don't think I want the LED to light up so having a fan controller to turn it off is a good feature if I don't replace the fan

Your setup is different though. I always suggest a modular PSU in midi towers, you sadly don't have one so you will no doubt have a mess of cables hidden at the front of the case in the HDD bay. These cables are blocking airflow which isn't great :(
I'll try my best to hide the PSU cables at the back of the case to keep a good airflow

Before you start spending money, see what temps you get and how far you can push your CPU on the stock setup. If you are not happy with the temps, I would suggest adding two 4pin (PWM) fans to your matterhorn heatsink (I can only mount one fan on my gelid heatsink) and move the old heatsink fan to the bottom of the case if you can, to get more air in the case.
The Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure Edition CPU Cooler attach to the heatsink with a clip which Alpenföhn only provided one, is there other fans that could fit on the heatsink if I wanted to replace later on?

Having two fans on the heatsink is better?
 
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I'll give the i5 3570K a try on overclock to 4.5GHz under 60-70°C full load and try overclock the HD 7850 as well to gain more performance when gaming

Since the Zalman Z9 Plus case has 7 fans mount, removing the two fans from the side panel as it will make a rattling noise that will be 5 fans, two fans at the top, one fan at the back and one fan at the front, is it needed to have a fan at the bottom?

iirc any standard 120mm fan will fit
How will the fan fit onto the heatsink if I use two fans? If I use two fans on the Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure Edition CPU Cooler how many °C could I drop?

I was thinking if I overclock the i5 3570K to 4.5GHz or higher and the temperature is high with the Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure Edition CPU Cooler then should I consider of replacing the CPU cooler with a push-pull CPU cooler or a liquid CPU cooler?
 
two fans on the cpu will be better obviously, intake to the right with an exhaust blowing air out the back of the case in front of the normal exhaust fan, have an exhaust fan at the top then 1/2 intake fans at the front, that'll be fine.
I've the same fans setup as in the image,

http://i.imgur.com/rnTWe.jpg

dont think the matterhorn supports mounting 2 fans.
id get this:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Cooler Master Hyper 612S CPU Cooler (Socket LGA1366/1156/1155/775/AM3/AM2+/AM2) £31.79
Total : £41.69 (includes shipping : £8.25).



if you want a dual fan compatible heatsink
I've already got the Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure Edition CPU Cooler but since it only has one fan mount, should I consider a push-pull CPU cooler or a liquid CPU cooler?
 
well you could mod yourself a 2nd fan mount i guess

when i said "doesnt support" i meant "doesnt come with"
I'll try look around websites which might sell the fan clip

Wouldn't bother getting a new cooler just for push/pull, you have a good cooler, just stick with it.

You are wasting money for no reason.
If I did get a push-pull CPU cooler or a liquid CPU cooler, I'll use the Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure Edition CPU Cooler on my other AMD build
 
you're making a big fuss over a small issue tbh. if you have a 4.5ghz oc and you're below 80c, there's no problem with whatever cooler you use
 
you're making a big fuss over a small issue tbh. if you have a 4.5ghz oc and you're below 80c, there's no problem with whatever cooler you use
Sorry about that, first time building a gaming PC, just wanted to make sure no heat issues, seen people using a liquid CPU cooler with the i5 3570K overclocked to 4.5GHz and the temperature is quite good so I was thinking giving it a try but since people suggested Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure Edition CPU Cooler is a good CPU cooler and stick to it, I'll stick with your advice

Since the Zalman Z9 Plus case has 7 fans mount, removing the two fans from the side panel as it will make a rattling noise that will be 5 fans, two fans at the top, one fan at the back and one fan at the front, is it needed to have a fan at the bottom?

Will save the money for a possible of few fans, fan controller (If noise is a problem) and a SSD
 
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