Capt said:
Looking to build a new computer, last one I built was a P-3.
Going to buy/assemble a:
ASUS P6X58D Premium Intel i7 X58 1366 Motherboard,
Thermaltake TR2 RX 750W power supply,
Intel® CoreT i7 950 Processor BX80601950 - LGA1366, and a
Antec Three Hundred Mid Tower ATX Computer Case.
My Questions are:
1) I am not planning on overclocking, is the stock intel cpu cooler good
enough? or do I need something like Cooler Master Hyper 212 plus Cooler?
2) I believe the motherboard has 6 memory slots. If I want to have 12 meg of
ram, is it better to use 3 strips of 4 meg like
Patriot DDR3 12GB (3x4GB) PC3-10666 (1333MHz) or 6 strips of something like
Kingston Hyper X 12GB (2GB 256M x 64-Bit x 6 pcs.) / 1600MHz.
Anyother suggestions?
Thanks
Rich
The 3x4GB config will leave more room for air cooling.
Modern RAM, especially DDR3, doesn't get very hot. It
doesn't use that much power. But we have to do everything
possible, to try to encourage the RAM to last longer than
two years. And cooling may help. Otherwise, I wouldn't
have any concern about 6x2GB. You'd want to check the
Asus memory compatibility chart, to see what speed versus
config will work.
http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/LGA1366/P6X58D_Premium/P6X58D-Premium-Memory-QVL.zip
The chart shows some three stick configs (B*), working at DDR3-2000.
There are no 4GB modules in the DDR3-2000 category.
There are some six stick configs (D*), working at DDR3-1600. It
implies there is a slight speed penalty for six sticks (bus loading).
Since your 3x4GB choice is DDR3-1333, then whether you run
three or six sticks of that, is likely OK. No chance of hitting
the upper limits. (It's funny, the Intel ark web page, lists DDR3-1066 stock,
while the Asus manual lists up to DDR3-1333 as stock.)
With regard to the Intel cooler, check reviews for your
processor, and see if anyone reports the CPU fan is loud.
Also, check for reports of overheating in the customer
reviews. It's a 130W processor.
http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=37150
From Newegg:
"Cons: The heat sink fan was loud for the first couple days.
Not load as in the fan generating a lot of speed but
noisy LOUD!! as if something was stuck between the blades.
I had to finesse the blade a little and I kept the system
running for several hours over a two day period to
eventually quiet the noise. It could have been a stiff
blade or something. Maybe it just needed to warm up.
But I was almost ready to return on day three."
"Cons: Pretty bad stock heatsink/fan, mine also came DOA
(Not NewEgg's fault)"
Intel will design the fan with enough capacity to do the
cooling job (at stock speeds), but the quality of the cooler
is another issue entirely. I used an aftermarket on my last
build, probably for the same reasons as you. Mine uses screws
and nuts for mounting, and won't fall off, ever. I hate those
push pins Intel uses. It could be secondary aesthetic reasons,
that drive you to an aftermarket cooler.
While there is a video here, showing how to install the LGA1366,
they don't show how to remove the push pins later.
http://www.intel.com/support/processors/corei7/sb/CS-030866.htm#boxedinstall
There are other web pages, that cover removal. Turn push pin
a quarter turn, to unlock it, then pull up.
http://www.intel.com/cd/channel/res...ocessors/pent_dual/feature/299985.htm#maint_C
http://cache-www.intel.com/cd/00/00/36/60/366011_366011.jpg
You can always, test the Intel cooler first. If you don't
like it, then buy the aftermarket cooler and use that instead.
HTH,
Paul
