I really don't know why you guys have so much trouble. As long as you make sure the snaps are loose and position all of them directly over the cpu, then you're able to easily snap each one into place. I've done the last half-dozen this way. The only trouble i've had with heatsinks are non-stock ones that require mounting brackets or screws. The reason intel makes them so simple is so they can be done quick and easy...

I have one of these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118019

It was a pain to mount the brackets and wonder how far i should tighten the screws. Wanted to always test it looser or tighter. With the intel heat sinks they just pop in. Of course you may just have a weird motherboard.

[Edited on July 15, 2008 at 11:52 PM. Reason : ..]

7/15/2008 11:51:01 PM

How big is that? I'm worried that if I go buy something like that it will be to big or something will be in the way.

[Edited on July 16, 2008 at 6:49 AM. Reason : ]

7/16/2008 6:48:22 AM

if I didn't have clearance issues with my Thermaltake Big Typhoon, you shouldn't have clearance issues with anything unless you pick something like a TRUE which I seriously doubt you will. Zalman also has like a 92mm version of that cooler if you want it instead.

7/16/2008 8:15:57 AM

Sounds good, I'm just gonna get something with a mounting bracket.

7/16/2008 8:40:16 AM

Anyone know where I can find one of these on the cheap? I'm still googling.

http://www.startech.com/item/PCI312PUSB-USB-PlusPower-3-Port-PCI-12V-Powered-USB-Card.aspx

All I need is one port, not three.

[Edited on July 16, 2008 at 9:46 AM. Reason : -]

7/16/2008 9:46:21 AM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815104216

edit: or others http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&Description=usb%20pci&bop=And&Order=RATING

[Edited on July 16, 2008 at 10:03 AM. Reason : .]

7/16/2008 10:02:15 AM

Those area actually the wrong kind. Here's a closeup of an example of one of the cables:



I'm looking for a PCI card that provides an interface to the left cable end. Also seen on this page:
http://www.usbpluspower.org/

Looks like they are harder to come by. I definitely don't want to drop $100+ on one.

7/16/2008 10:17:21 AM

the retail intel hs/f units took some getting used to, but my most recent builds haven't given me any trouble

7/16/2008 10:48:51 AM

I'll be getting my cheapo Core 2 Duo e4600 in soon for my HTPC. Was only 119$!

7/16/2008 10:54:36 AM

http://www.provantage.com/digi-301-1170~7DGO903R.htm - $86

[Edited on July 16, 2008 at 10:55 AM. Reason : link]

7/16/2008 10:54:41 AM

so what kind of devices use those?

7/16/2008 11:10:47 AM

^

7/16/2008 11:15:40 AM

http://www.usbpluspower.org/

looks like POS stuff like cardreaders at cash registers, etc.

[Edited on July 16, 2008 at 11:20 AM. Reason : .]

7/16/2008 11:19:05 AM

yea just about nothing on that site works as far as product links go

7/16/2008 11:29:55 AM

Yeah, scanners, magnetic stripe readers, receipt printers, etc.

I had a a few touch screens fall into my lap and was looking at powering the things. The powered USB cable provides the unit with power and also sends the data for the touch. Still don't think I'd drop $85 (thanks for the link by the way) on this pet project. I was hoping they'd be around $20-$30. The POS terminals are also freebies which already have all the hookups, but the processors are to slow, the video card is understandably crummy, and the max memory the motherboards support is too small.

The powered USB ports on those are integrated, otherwise...

The other model uses a completely different kind of connection, both with power, touch data (serial), and video, so that one is out as well.

Devices:




What I have is similar to the monitor in the last pic.

[Edited on July 16, 2008 at 11:35 AM. Reason : -]

7/16/2008 11:32:19 AM

Can I socket T heatsink fit a Socket 775?

7/16/2008 2:22:47 PM

Socket 775 (LGA775 / Socket T) are all the same thing

7/16/2008 3:05:07 PM

gothca, I put on a Thermacool, keeps it at about 45c after about 20 minutes of installing vista.

7/16/2008 3:32:35 PM

that's much better.

7/16/2008 3:33:14 PM

just a temporary solution so I can use it now, I'll probably buy something a bit better in a week or two. All they had were extremely huge ones.

7/16/2008 3:35:10 PM

Also I've been told the Q9450 doesn't report all that accurate idle temps.

7/16/2008 4:09:46 PM

I think you were looking for this earlier:

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=975365

7/16/2008 4:21:23 PM

Quote :

"I'll be getting my cheapo Core 2 Duo e4600 in soon for my HTPC. Was only 119$!"

You can get stuff like this used for way cheaper. It was the "Fad" for poor people (read : me) a year ago.

I picked up a 4400 for 50$ and its been running at 3ghz fine

7/17/2008 12:13:21 AM

Wow. Is 45c a normal idle temp for the Q9450?

7/17/2008 7:31:37 AM

^^cheapest core 2 duo i found on newegg.com. Didn't want to bother and wanted to buy all my parts from one site.

[Edited on July 17, 2008 at 8:47 AM. Reason : ..]

7/17/2008 8:47:04 AM

the E7200 is only $10 more, and the performance difference seemed well worth it when I bought mine.

7/17/2008 9:03:45 AM

yeah good point. Course the q6600 is only 179$ now. I don't really mind though. I'll overclock the e4600 to 3.0ghz and it'll work great for an htpc.

7/17/2008 9:08:36 AM

Just got a new mid-tower case (Antec 900)...going to drill a couple of holes to help with cable management. Does anyone know where I can get rubber grommets or something similar to cover the rough edges of the hole? Something similar to the two grommets on the back of this case used for water cooling, but not necessarily with the leaves.

7/17/2008 12:23:56 PM

You're looking for a better-looking solution than rubber tubing cut down the center?

7/17/2008 12:29:03 PM

for case parts:
http://www.petrastechshop.com/
http://www.svc.com
http://www.frozencpu.com/
http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/
http://www.xoxide.com/
http://www.xpcgear.com/
http://www.heatsinkfactory.com/
http://www.case-mod.com/
http://www.sharkacomputers.com/

petra has 3/4" and 5/8" rubber grommets
frozenCPU has a ton too:
http://www.frozencpu.com/search.html?mv_profile=keyword_search&mv_session_id=nu5z82yB&searchspec=grommet&go.x=0&go.y=0

[Edited on July 17, 2008 at 12:43 PM. Reason : ,]

7/17/2008 12:42:06 PM

Okay. So. Creating a thread about making a laptop purchase in the near future has gotten me all worked up about my old 2.8ghz, 2gig ram, HIS Radeon x1650 pro "gaming" rig. I did a quick search and made up a list as seen below. I'm not at all familiar with what's really out there. Anyways, here's what I've picked out. I know someone mentioned something about a newer socket coming out soon that would make the current ones obsolete and "outdated." I'm not really worry about that since I'm hoping this next computer will last for about 5-10 years, leaving room to upgrade memory, video, and p/s if need be.

Motherboard:
*NVIDIA nforce 790i SLI Motheroard
XFX MBN790IUL9 LGA 775
$349.99 New Egg

*NVIDIA nforce 790i SLI Motheroard
ASUS Striker II NSE LGA 775
$374.99 New Egg

Processor:
*Intel 2 Quad Q9550 2.83Ghz 12 MB Cache 1333mhz FSB
$549.99 New Egg

Video Graphics Card:
*Dual NVIDIA Geforce 9800GTX (512mb)
BFG Tech BFG Tech BFGE98512 (755mhz core, 2300mhz memory)
$259.99 ea. New Egg

*Dual NVIDIA Geforce GTX 260 (896mb)
XFX GX260NADDU (630mhz core, 2300mhz memory)
$329.99 New Egg
$309.99 Zip Zoom Fly

*Dual NVIDIA1Gb Geforce 9800 GX2 Quad Core
XFX PVT9842HBU (700mhz core, 2100mhz memory)
$469.99 New Egg
$439.99 Zip Zoom Fly

Memory:
*Patriot 2 x 1024Mb Viper DDR3 PVS320A1333LLKN (7-7-7-20 Cas 7)
$99.00 New Egg

*Patriot 2 x 2048Mb Viper PC3 12800 Dual Channel PVS34G1600LLKN (7-7-7-20 Cas 7)
$379.99 New Egg

*Corsair Twin 3x2048-1066C7( 7-7-7-21)
$86.00 New Egg

*Corsair XMS3 DHX4AB Twin 3x4096-1600C7DHX (7-7-7-20)
$529.00 New Egg

Power Supply:
*Thermal Take Toughpower W0156RU 1200 Watt
$369.99 New Egg
$324.99 Zip Zoom Fly

*Cooler Master Real Power Pro RS A00-EFAM-A3 1000 Watt
$349.99 New Egg

Hard Drive:
*Western Digital WD3000GLFS
300 GB Velociraptor SATA 3.0Gb/sec 10,000RPM 16MB Cache
$299.99 New Egg
$298.89 Zip Zoom Fly

*Western Digital Caviar SC16 WD5000AAKS
500GB SATA 3.0Gb/sec 7,200 RPM 16mb Cache
$79.99 New Egg
$76.80 Zip Zoom Fly

CD/DVD Drive:
20x Dual Layer Burner (any)
~$26.00 New Egg

Networking:
Bigfoot NIC K1 w/FNA PCI Game Network Adapter 10/100/1000 LX RJ45
$179.99 New Egg

Case:
Cooler Master Cosmos S RC-1100 KKN Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower
$209.99 New Egg

Cooling:
Cooler Master RLM4A E7E 3-GP NVIDIA Cooling
$41.99 Zip Zoom Fly

Cooler Master RL-HUB-KBU1-GB (10008814)
$219.99 Zip Zoom Fly

Vantec STG 100 All In One (370884)
$179.99 Zip Zoom Fly

Sound Card:
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer High Definition 7.1 Audio
$135.00 New Egg

Windows Vista x64 Home Ultimate $179.99 New Egg

This is just a list of things that I saw/liked. If there are any suggestions on other cases/memory/water cooling kits/etc please let me know. I don't plan on buying this all at once, rather, slowly over the course of 3-6months as I see deals/sales on the particular items I see. I don't know if something better and more bang for the buck is coming out soon like some of you, so any insight to worthwhile future hardware releases would be awesome.

I already have a monitor/keyboard/speakers, etc. Budget is: Stay below $3k.
Thanks


[Edited on July 17, 2008 at 2:59 PM. Reason : .]

7/17/2008 2:53:59 PM

did you seriously just look for the most expensive stuff you could find?

edit: but if you have the money, why not, I was just wondering.

[Edited on July 17, 2008 at 3:05 PM. Reason : .]

7/17/2008 3:04:31 PM

Quote :

"Processor: *Intel 2 Quad Q9550 2.83Ghz 12 MB Cache 1333mhz FSB $549.99 New Egg"

Save youself the money and go with the Intel 2 Quad 9450, but a slightly nicer cooling system and just overclock it.


Why do you need such a nice system?

[Edited on July 17, 2008 at 3:11 PM. Reason : ]

7/17/2008 3:09:17 PM

^^^hell yeah best way to build a computer if you don't have a budget (usually).

And you might as well do tri-sli with three Nvidia GTX280's.

[Edited on July 17, 2008 at 3:11 PM. Reason : ..]

7/17/2008 3:09:33 PM

^hell yes, buy three gtx 280's if you're spending that much, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130365, $450 a pop.

edit: and the killer NIC is worthless.

[Edited on July 17, 2008 at 3:15 PM. Reason : .]

7/17/2008 3:13:01 PM

^^^^ I did, and I'm not going to buy all this "now." Instead, I was going to wait because something new and better is always coming out. That way I can just watch these items, and when the price is right, I'll buy.

^^^ I learned a little bit about overclocking when I was building my dad's computer with him about 5 years ago. We were both kinda scared about burning it up and keeping it stable and everything. Lot of time went into it, but it runs great (has been for the last 5 years ) So yes, I'm admitting to being scared about overclocking something myself.

^^I'm a gaming fanatic. My system chokes up sometimes on games that are coming out now because of the lack of enough processor power/video/memory/etc. I'd like to be able to play games to their fullest again and not have to go into settings and change everything to low or off...

[Edited on July 17, 2008 at 3:16 PM. Reason : .]

7/17/2008 3:16:16 PM

does tri-sli cockblock any chance you have of running a dedicated sound card?

edit: if you're wanting games to run awesome, I read there's an e8600 launching @ 3.33ghz stock. That shit would clock so high with the 10x multi it wouldn't even be funny.I'm pretty sure currently most games don't take advantage of quadcores, don't know how much that would play into effect in the future. On the other hand, I bet all the gpu power in your computer would just be like om-nom-nom-nom on a dual, so never mind this.

[Edited on July 17, 2008 at 3:21 PM. Reason : dur]

7/17/2008 3:18:14 PM

Quote :

"edit: and the killer NIC is worthless."

7/17/2008 3:29:32 PM

or if you really want a monster build, wait til an intel board launches that supports 4 ati cards in crossfirex (maybe x58?, I don't believe so though) and get 4 4870 x2's haha, don't think it allows that many though.

edit: seriously though, I'd wait until the 4870x2 launches sometime very soon and buy two of them for crossfire, make sure you have an intel chipset board such as an x58 though.

edit2: what resolution monitor are you gonna be running, that will reeeeally help, because two 4870x2's, or the gtx280's for that matter, can straight up drop games at 2560x1600 with AA and AF turned up high, but it's almost wasted power to have that much GPU in a computer held back by a low resolution.

[Edited on July 17, 2008 at 3:52 PM. Reason : .]

7/17/2008 3:39:14 PM

this is what i would do with ~$3,150

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=8338272&WishListTitle=tww-build-3

in a nutshell:

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 Yorkfield 2.66GHz
Thermalright Ultra-120 CPU Cooling Heatsink
EVGA NVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra SLI DDR3 ATX Intel Motherboard
Patriot Viper 8GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
SAMSUNG 22X Black SATA DVD Burner
2x EVGA GeForce GTX 280 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 SLI
1x Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB 10000 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
2x Western Digital Caviar SE16 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
Creative 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty
Antec P182 Gun Metal Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
CORSAIR CMPSU-1000HX 1000W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 Power Supply
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit

i know it's not watercooled, but an ultra 120 can keep it cool even without a fan.
this is the one i desperately want, the all-black anniversary edition:
http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/thulexbled.html

the P182 case has rubber grommets for watercooling if you choose to go that route later too.

and i totally agree with stepmaniadud you can drop $500 off the cost if you go dual 9800GTX+'s in SLI and go out and buy a badass 26" LCD

8GB of memory, 2GB of video memory, and 1.5TB of storage just makes me drool

[Edited on July 17, 2008 at 4:33 PM. Reason : ,]

7/17/2008 4:14:50 PM

yea, especially now since the 9800gtx+'s are listed on evga's site for $199.

[Edited on July 17, 2008 at 4:34 PM. Reason : .]

7/17/2008 4:32:39 PM

i think the 9800GTX+ & the 4850's are the sweet spot right now.

7/17/2008 4:34:28 PM

In terms of pure gaming performance, which would be better:

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037

7/17/2008 10:12:20 PM

imho, the higher clocked dual core E8400, unless you OC the Q6600 to 3.0Ghz, the E8400 also runs a LOT cooler, uses less power, etc.

my answer might change if you'd use the Q6600 for our folding team though.

[Edited on July 17, 2008 at 10:25 PM. Reason : .]

7/17/2008 10:24:29 PM

but he could just as easily knock the 8400 up to 4.0 and probably be better off in current games.

edit: nvr mind

[Edited on July 17, 2008 at 10:26 PM. Reason : .]

7/17/2008 10:25:36 PM

guys the 9800GTX is ridiculously low right now (competing with the 4850)

down to $179 ($149 AR)
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3732815&Sku=P56-9802
http://www.compusa.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3732815&CatId=3670

[Edited on July 23, 2008 at 5:14 PM. Reason : .]

7/23/2008 5:12:14 PM

ok so on my new HTPC i'm having issues with the LiteOn sata dvd burner. Sometimes it'll read the disk, and other times it'll think it's blank and ask me if i want to burn it.

Opening the dvd tray and closing it again fixes this problem. It's just annoying. I have no idea what it is.

7/23/2008 11:23:47 PM

How important is a dedicated sound card? Do motherboards do decent 5.1 surround these days?

Quote :

"guys the 9800GTX is ridiculously low right now (competing with the 4850)"

I thought it was the GTX+ that was the competitor to the 4850?

7/24/2008 12:07:38 PM

^I'm getting a lot of static when I run Skype calls on my 7.1 onboard sound. I don't know if it's because I don't have a dedicated card or not, otherwise I've got no problems.

7/24/2008 12:24:29 PM

^^they both are

the 9800GTX came out, then the 4850, then they released the GTX+ which is just a faster clocked 9800GTX... they are in the same target market... and by compete, i meant compete in price... since most 4850's are $150AR


[Edited on July 24, 2008 at 12:31 PM. Reason : .]

7/24/2008 12:31:02 PM