Wee Project Build

something seems wrong with these numbers, i don't recall my "budget" mATX systems costing this much! plus erm, whatabout a hard disk?
i guess the mobo is that much cos of the SLI/dual graphics, whereas all the ones I have are single solutions, but to pay >£90 more for that luxury....
and there was me thinking I would just add that one more 250 gts to my fleet.....

edit: oh oops apart from hd and monitor... duh!
 
Got the 32nm CPU for the 73TDP -gives a little room for oc'ing - with the right cooling of course (and in such a small case it will be interesting).

We'll see how it goes.

:D
 
Haha I gotta love your reasoning. "If I get a 50% slower chip with a 20% lower TDP, I have more o/cing headroom so I should be able to get its speed up to nearly 75% that of the faster chip before my TDP exceeds that of the faster chip" :p

Sorry ;)
 
Looks like I'm gonna have to RMA the Motherboard :(

Does not like it when the two GTS250's are plugged in.

Works with just one GPU card (tried both cards - and fine) but BSOD's when I put the second in.

Also, does not recognise the XMP profile of the RAM.

So much for a nice easy build.......
 
thats the only problem with self builds, the whole sending things back and waiting bit is a pita :mad:
Not to mention the whole troubleshooting bit, even though it is not working you keep trying beyond reasonable doubt, trash the main rig for parts desperate to avoid having to send anything back.

Bad luck m8
 
Yup,

Checked GPU's - there all ok.
CPU - fine
RAM - Don't have any other DDR3 so can't check (can only run tests on current RAM - not done yet).
 
Well......................

Don't I feel like a fool...............

Looks like a bios update on the motherboard has fixed the problem with the GPU's.

The wee rig is happily crunching away......whilst I type :)

Having a few minow issues with it still, as Boinc has froze up twice......

But, since stopping it from trying to switch off the monitor after 15mins things seem to be ok (fingers crossed).

Will post a few piccie's (after I've had some sleep) - just to see what ya thinks!!!
 
Thats great news loudbob, doesn't matter why it wasn't working, the main thing is that it is now :p

I have an old win 7 dell rig, dual Pentium D 3Ghz and 1 250 in there and its average ppd is around the 4300 mark
 
Before:

beforeo.jpg
 
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Job Done.

With a few minor tweaks and bios update - it's all working fine.

Now, just need to sort out some better cooling for the CPU & GPU's.......

Any advice? (bearing in mind it's such a wee case)

:D
 
It's not that wee a case, it's got a 120mm fan at the top, you should surely be able to fit most CPU coolers in it? If you are space-restricted your best cooling bet would be the H50 or CoolIt Eco. Still waiting on decent reviews to show which is better, but the CoolIt is cheaper.
Not sure about GPU cooling..
 
Not gonna fit the H50 or Coolit in this case - afraid it's only air cooling.

Height restrictions too - max height from board is 120mm (if I remove the side fan)
 
How much o/cing do you plan to do?

Just out of interest, why air cooling only? I consider those to be air cooling, for all intents and purposes, being sealed (plus my H50 had a 10 year warranty :D) but I know others have different opinions.

Edit: and budget? :p
 
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Sorry, just meant standard air coolers.

No paricular budget in mind - oc depending on how good the coolers are.

Main thing atm are the GPU's - currently running @ 85c and 85% fan (top card).

The current GPU coolers don't exhaust the heat out the back of the case.
 
Aye, but why just standard air coolers? :p
You'll get better performance from one of them than you will from any air cooler that you'll fit in the case.
Also, it turns out I've never looked into relatively small form-factor HSF and therefore know rather little about what's good :o

And I can't help you with GPU coolers either, I know nothing about them at all, sorry! :p
 
I have a case with a full mesh panel on the side which allows you to fix a fan anywhere on it - including directly over the cards.

There is some discussion in case central on cutting out windows, this maybe over the top considering who its for, dunno.

Also what about these, might help a bit, simple and cheap.

But knowing you, you will probably find a much more techical solution involving a American supplier :p
 
What about something like this i am using the same stock air fan and with one of these fitted to the inside of the case i lowered cpu temp by 11 degrees, it can be extended depending on the distance from case to spu cooler :)


 
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