Advice on new setup?

[Kyle]

Building a new system to replace a Pentium 630 setup. Will be used for
occasional rendering of video and have plans to learn AutoCad/Chief
Architect. Hard Drives are missing from the list and will use a Velociraptor
150GB and two Western Digital 640GB drives that will be transferred from
existing computer. Leaning towards a Cooler Master HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP
which will be purchased from another vendor.

Please glance over this setup, thanks:


GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard -
Item #: N82E16813128359 <-- Newegg
$15.00 Mail-in Rebate
$119.99

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core
Item #: N82E16819115036
$187.99

SAPPHIRE 100265L Radeon HD 4830 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0
x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814102803
$99.99

CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80
PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
Item #: N82E16817139004
$85.00

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual
Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK - Retail
Item #: N82E16820231166
$54.99

ZALMAN CNPS9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler - Retail
Item #: N82E16835118019
$53.99

Subtotal: $661.92
Shipping: $67.57
Grand Total: $729.49

 

[Paul]

Building a new system to replace a Pentium 630 setup. Will be used for
occasional rendering of video and have plans to learn AutoCad/Chief
Architect. Hard Drives are missing from the list and will use a Velociraptor
150GB and two Western Digital 640GB drives that will be transferred from
existing computer. Leaning towards a Cooler Master HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP
which will be purchased from another vendor.

Please glance over this setup, thanks:


GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard -
Item #: N82E16813128359 <-- Newegg
$15.00 Mail-in Rebate
$119.99

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core
Item #: N82E16819115036
$187.99

SAPPHIRE 100265L Radeon HD 4830 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0
x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814102803
$99.99

CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80
PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
Item #: N82E16817139004
$85.00

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual
Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK - Retail
Item #: N82E16820231166
$54.99

ZALMAN CNPS9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler - Retail
Item #: N82E16835118019
$53.99

Subtotal: $661.92
Shipping: $67.57
Grand Total: $729.49

The CNPS9700 has a three pin power connector and a FanMate. What
that means, is your CPU fan ends up being fixed speed (but
adjustable with a knob on the FanMate).

The CNPS9700 NT, on the other hand, has a four pin connector. That
mates with the Intel four pin CPU fan connector. The extra signal is
called PWM (pulse width modulation), and that signal is a speed
control for the fan. It means the CPU fan will be speed sensitive.
AFAIK, no FanMate is included with that product. To use the
speed control in that case, either depends on a BIOS
auto-speed setting, or a Windows program like Speedfan.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118020

If the motherboard has a four pin CPU fan connector, but the
PWM pin is not driven, then the fan runs full speed. Similarly,
if a four pin fan is connected to a three pin header, the fan
runs full speed.

Visually, you can compare the two products here. The CNPS9700 NT
is plated, but we're not exactly sure what it is plated with.
Early articles described it as "nickel", but they have another
term for it here. And the Zalman web page just doesn't describe
the plating at all (which is suspicious).

http://www.quietpcusa.com/Zalman-CNPS9700-NT-Ultra-Quiet-CPU-Cooler--P131C41.aspx

http://zalman.co.kr/ENG/product/Product_Read.asp?idx=165

Anyway, it isn't a big deal. I'm sure either cooler would work.
It's just, with a 65W processor, you're not going to need a
lot of fan.

Using the drawing in the downloadable Gigabyte user manual, it
looks like when the CNPS9700 is installed and blowing air towards
the back of the computer case, the fins will be roughly flush
with the top edge of the motherboard. With some Zalmans,
you have to carefully check that the CPU heatsink won't
bump into the PSU casing above it.

Paul