My First Custom Build!!!!

Posted:
December 8th 2005
Updated:
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Key Features:
Intel CPU AMD Graphics
System Specs:
  • Asus P5WD2 Premium Motherboard,
  • Intel Pentium 4 HT 640 3.2 @ 3.8ghz =
  • Club3D Radeon X800XL 256mb VIVO =
  • 4x (2x shown in pic) 512mb 533mhz DDR2 @ 700mhz (dual channel) =
  • SATA 80gb Seagate Baracuda 7200rpm =
  • LG Flatron 17" 1280/1024 TFT monitor =
  • LG DVD+R/+RW =
Performed Mods:
Overclocked CPU to 3.85ghz from 3.2 Overclocked and Tweaked GFX card to get 6k+ in 3dmark05 Got bored and painted PSU
===This is my First Custom build, and considering i'm 16, I'm very happy with it!!! ===I just spent 3 hours yesterday neatening the cables, and even now, they're not especially tidy. After this, i have learned how difficult it is to keep the wires out of sight. I now have a lot of respect to those with neat cases!!! GJ people! ===The case fans need replacing. They're very powerful, but are noisy and are falling apart after 50hours use... :P ===The Acrylic needs cleaning and polishing properly. I was in a rush to get it all in! ===Please no-one start telling me how crap intel is, I really don't want to hear it. Same applies to the nVidia fanboys. ===Any tips and suggestions are welcome!
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52 Comments on My First Custom Build!!!!

#1
G.T
Kudos, clean and tidy, well done.
Posted on Reply
#2
infrared
Thanks :)

I learnt a valuable lesson though:
It's tricky trying to hide cables in a clear case! Maybe i'll go with a metal case with a window next time! :D
Posted on Reply
#3
Unregistered
here is an idea...put 3 inches tubing that goes from the fan to the exterior
am pretty sure you could find this tubing at the home depot...i mean clear tubing
#4
infrared
The cpu fan? hmm, interesting thought. It's easily done i suppose.

I don't really need it at the moment though, the inside of the case is the same temp as the air ouside, so the case fans are doing a good job. What it could really do with is a decent heatsink. I've seen some awsome flower sinks that would do the job well.

Thanks for your input. :)
Posted on Reply
#5
Unregistered
infraredThanks :)

I learnt a valuable lesson though:
It's tricky trying to hide cables in a clear case! Maybe i'll go with a metal case with a window next time! :D
try to convert all the wire to the same color, this would include to tear down the power supply
but a mod that we dont see that often
#6
wtf8269
Sweet system man. I'm not a huge fan of clear cases myself, but congrats on it man! Nice OC too.
Posted on Reply
#7
infrared
Thanks.

Hehe, I had to borrow £600 of my mum's money as well, so i'm gonna be in debt for a while! In total i spent about £800 - £850 on this... Good price or what?? :D

I dread to think how much an ailienware PC with a similar spec would cost.
Posted on Reply
#8
chopperdan88
Well Done

i don't consider myself much of a fan of clear cases. i thought about buying one when i was first building my machine. but i went with antec and i have had nothing but success. are your cpu temperatures way out of whack now that you are running a 1Ghz overclock? i personally think that anything above say 400mhz is overkill, and you run too much of a chance of frying the cpu. well, congrats on your build, it looks sweet.you should try wrapping the wires in mesh or something, so that the yellow, black and red don't show so much. LOOKS GREAT!
Posted on Reply
#9
tony929292
nice and neat i am not a fan of clear cases but your shows mes the great protinal it has mainly if it clear everthing has to be like the psu and cd drives and you show evey single wire like mine a hided wire and it still a mess but your is neat and nice colors and i love u took the time to paint your psu i give it a ...... ...... .....6 excellect might i suggest rouund cables black i like the black asus ribbions u got but some soild black round ones would look nice too and aleast one wire cover for the group of wire that r tide in with 24 pin psu connector those wire mods r very cheap check out ebay or somthing get them for 5 bucks
Posted on Reply
#10
Tory
What's your cpu temp and voltage? I find it hard to believe that you got a 1Ghz overclock on stock cooling when most intels don't even run properly without throttling on stock cooling. Maybe you live in alaska?
Posted on Reply
#11
infrared
Ok, it's running completely stable at 4.2ghz (16x 262) , 1.4125v max temp = 64*c idle temp = 40*c

My room temps are about 29*c If you don't believe me, that's fine... If you like i'll take a screenshot of cpu-z

EDIT: I am an idiot!! It's been trottling back hard the whole time. I wandered why it was performing like crap.

Oh, and those temps were way off! I updated the bios, which revealed the true temps... to my horror! :P

It's now running 3.8ghz (14*272mhz) 1.4125v with a max temp of 72c while running the cpu arithmatic benchmark repeatedly with sisoft sandra. I checked that there was no thermal throttling with ThrottleWatch, but it seems i'm right on the limit. I covered the fan with a hand, and it throttled back as soon as temps hit 75c.
Posted on Reply
#12
Tory
Wait, what's the voltage again? I think you made a typo.
Posted on Reply
#13
infrared
Oh, woops :D

voltage is 1.4125, sorry my mistake
Posted on Reply
#15
infrared
Who keeps voting 1... none of the cases on this forum deserve a 1... Whoever it is needs to grow up.

Cool, i'll take a look. Thanks Dr. D
Posted on Reply
#16
CjStaal
run your power cables behind the mobo mount, why do you think theres big holes in the mount ;)
Posted on Reply
#17
infrared
lol, then it looks ugly from the other side :P

Could do though, i'll take it apart for cleaning soon, so i'll do some rearranging then.

Ok, upgrades planned:

Another 2 sticks of 512mb ram = 2gb total @ 700mhz (pc5700)
Another hard drive to put in a Raid 0 config! Sweet!

I'm also going to make on of the 5" bay blankers into a fan control panel, with just a variable resistor and a shiny nob of something :D

I need to get my hands on a x1800xt tho :D :D
Posted on Reply
#18
infrared
Ok, i've updated some details regarding the overclock... see post 12.
Posted on Reply
#19
CjStaal
How do you unlock the pent 4's multiplier?
Posted on Reply
#20
Tory
Wow that's really hot! You should get a better cooler or slow it down because running like that will shorten the life of your CPU a lot.
Posted on Reply
#21
tony929292
bikr692002How do you unlock the pent 4's multiplier?
you can unlock the mutlpyer on the 6xx series if the mobo has the options in the bios
Posted on Reply
#23
infrared
Ok, i'm buying a decent cooler tomorow. I'll post some pics when it's fitted. I'm also gettin an alaska ATI silencer for my graphics card which should help it along nicely.

EDIT: I got my new cpu cooler, i'll be taking some pics soon.

It's the 'Gigabyte 3D Rocket Cooler.' It's fairly tall, but isn't particularly wide, which is perfect for me. I also looked at the flower cooler, but the PSU gets in the way :(

Anyway, i've been able to get my high overclocks at safer temps and with not throttling!

Previousy i could get 3.75ghz @ 72c, which is 3c under thermal throttling,
I can now get in excess of 3.85ghz @ 65c!!!

I think i'm really lucky with this cpu, it overclocks by miles!!! i had it at 4.2ghz (16x multi), it was throttling back very hard, but it just shows that with some awsome cooling, it might be possible to stabilize it at that!!



Ok, the last think i need to get is the ATI silencer 5r2, which should be on it's way now!

EDIT:

All my new coolers are installed!!! I've got the "Gigabyte 3D rocket cooler" on the cpu, with AS5 of course! and the ATI Silencer 5r2 on my x800xl!

I still kept the 3.85ghz, but use it more as an 'everyday' speed, and ramp it up to 4.2ghz when i need it. Max temp at 3.85 with my new cooler is only 52c, and it idles at 35c.

And check this out!!! 4.2ghz is rock steady with a max temp of 56c!! I had 4.3 earlier, but had to put the voltage up to 1.43v, and even that wasn't enough... temperatures were getting to 60c, and prime 95 was begging to show errors, so i think 4.2ghz is the max for my cpu. Ill get a screenshot of cpuz and prime 95 and some others soon to prove it.
Posted on Reply
#24
infrared
UPDATED PICS with my new coolers!!!!





^I need to get my room re-decorated badly!!!
Posted on Reply
#25
Tory
Very nice! How's the noise compared to before and did you get any more performance out of it?
Posted on Reply
#26
infrared
It's a lot quieter with the new coolers, temperatures have come down by miles, i can overclock a lot higher, and i've just hit 6136 in 3dmark05!!! (highest of 4)

The case fans are quite noisy though, so i'm making a fan controller. The only problem is finding a variable resistor that can handle roughly 1 amp that my fans need... I've tried a few, and each one has burned out on me.

The only upgrade i need to do now is fit a second hard drive to put in RAID 0, and perhaps a gaming keyboard to go with my awsome mouse! I'm also looking into getting an x800/x850 master card to go in crossfire with my x800. That should be fun!

wow, looking back at this thread, it's amazing how much i've learned since i started this rig!
Posted on Reply
#27
G.T
The learning curve is always interesting when you are some way up it. :)
Posted on Reply
#28
Tory
Hehe... and just when you think you've got it all... 3Dmark06 comes out. DON"T try that program unless you want your comptuer to feel ancient. Trust me, I already tried it and now I'm thinking of a 7800 or X1800 already.
Posted on Reply
#30
Tory
infraredi got 2102 :(
I know... it's so sad :(
Posted on Reply
#31
infrared
WOOOOOT!!! 6186 in 3dmark05!!!! My x800 is kicking ass with the new ATI Silencer!!!

Posted on Reply
#32
infrared
Just hit 4.36ghz!!!!

Unfortunatly, to stabilize it at that speed, i had to use a 1.45v vcore, so it runs extemely hot, even with a good cooler on it. I saw temperatures @ 63c while stress testing with 2 instances of prime 95. I was hoping for 4.4ghz, but no matter what voltage i apply, it isn't stable. Maybe an external watercooling setup is in order! =D
Posted on Reply
#34
infrared
lol, 4.36 silly :P Though 4.46 would be nicer!

How far does your 630 go? W1zzards test one is amazing, but i'm not sure what cooling he's using on it.
Posted on Reply
#35
Clocked
i got mine toped up at 4.2 with a Voltage of 1.15. It ran ok for a bit, but dies after 3min of BF2. I lowered the clock to 4.0, runs great, An Artic Cooler Frezzer 7Pro is coming!

Wizzard got a 3.0 up to 4.5, I also forgot what heat sink he used. He was the one who thought me how to OC lol so THX!!! lol
Posted on Reply
#36
infrared
wow, that's a really nice vcore your running! What motherboard have you got?

a 1.2ghz overclock with a vcore that low is incredible! Congrats! :D

The lowest my asus board will go is 1.28v all the way up to 1.7v!! Not all bad though, it's rock stable at 300mhz fsb, 1200mhz bus speed!! Pretty awsome! I think it's rated for 450mhz, but there's no way i'd be able to get near that! I particularly love it for a few tweaks concerning the PCI-e settings, my card wouldn't perform nearly as well without my asus mobo
Posted on Reply
#37
Clocked
I got a PC Partner mobo.

The Intel 630, 640, 650 and 660 is the same chip(as far as i know). Their votage is also the same?, so the 3.0 to the 3.4 is running on the same voltage?
Posted on Reply
#38
infrared
the core voltage is set by the motherboard, which can be adjusted in the bios, but the Prescott based P4 has a recommended max voltage of 1.38v. Undervolting the processor will help gain a lower temperature, but if it's set too low can cause instability. Overvolting is used to stabilize a high overclock. For example, i had to raise the voltage up to 1.45v to stabilize @ 4.36ghz, which isn't a lot more voltage, but it makes a big difference to the temperatures!

btw, are you looking into getting a decent cpu cooler? what have you got in mind at the moment?

If you look on page 3 of this thread, you can see the one i got. It's very quiet, and keeps my processor nice and cool! Getting a decent cooler is usually recomened because it's quieter, extends the life of your cpu, and usually allows you to reach higher overclocks!
Posted on Reply
#39
Clocked
aha.. ok.

Yes, I am going to get a CPU cooler, right now i have the stock "orb" on it. I am looking at the Artic Cooler frezer 7pro. it sells for about $40 canadian here.
Posted on Reply
#40
infrared
Yeah, they're really sweet coolers! Nice price too! :D
Posted on Reply
#41
Clocked
1 quick question, and i want the truth lol...

was it hard to replace the cooler(CPU and GPU)??

Also, after you put in the Artic cooler ATI rev5, did you see a big improvement?
Posted on Reply
#42
infrared
Depending on what cooler you go for with the cpu, it's as easy as fitting the one that your cpu came with originally, although with my cpu cooler, i had to take the motherboard out to fit the mount. When you change it, you will need to clean the cpu, and apply some decent thermal grease, like Arctic Silver 5 (the best) before putting a new heatsink on.

The ATISilencer was easy!! I had that done within 10 minutes of it coming through the post! You have to be careful while cleaning the old thermal grease off the core, so you don't damage the resistors. After fitting it, i got a massive increase in speed, and far lower temperatures! And the best thing: it's silent!!! :D

Hey, on another note, i managed to stabilize a 4.4ghz overclock today! =O

I left the windows open, and let my room cool down to 5c to manage it though.
Posted on Reply
#43
CjStaal
infrared...I think it's rated for 450mhz, but there's no way i'd be able to get near that!...
lol isn't that a bottleneck for you now?
Wait... when you get new ram it will be lol
Posted on Reply
#44
infrared
this thread is old. I was a noob when i started this thread :(

anyway, updates:

Case has been stripped down, and is being used as a testbed at the moment.
x800xl fried because i dropped a screw on the voltmod.
rma'd it for an x800gto2, unlocked the last pipes, and clocked to 585/640
my P4 now reaches 4.7-4.8ghz prime stable with my arctic Freezer 7 Pro
Bought a second hard drive to put in Raid 0.
I'm soon to lap the cpu and HS and see if that helps temps any. (idle 37c load 55c)
I need some faster ram!

Updated bechmark scores:

3dmark05: 7200
3dmark03: I'll do that tonight
Aquamark: I'll do it tonight
superpi: 28s (ram bottleneck, the time stops improving at 4.3ghz)
Posted on Reply
#45
intelandgigabyte
what type of psu do you have you should think about getting a new psu with plug in cables
Posted on Reply
#46
infrared
I bought the thermaltake purepower 680w psu, after that generic 450w psu blew up and damaged my motherboard. The cables are all sleaved, and it looks a lot neater. I meant to only have that cheap psu for a few weeks until i could aford a decent one, but never got round to replacing it.

Getting a new case soon, I've got the aerocool 'aeroengine II' in mind, or perhaps an aspire gaming case. Then going to watercooling. I'm getting the swiftech apogee waterblock, a decent pump. I'm considering getting the radiator/fan from an air-conditioning unit as an outdoor radiator, and maybe a 240x120 radiator to mount on the outside of my case for taking my pc to lans. I could even get a peltier, but i don't like the idea of having a separate psu, although my psu might have enough amps to spare.

Dry ice tubes look like a lot of fun, so i think i might buy one of them to play with. If my cpu can hit 4.9ghz on air, imagine how far it can go on dry ice. Before i go ahead with this, i need some faster ram, otherwise i won't gain anything by using sub-zero cooling.

I gotta get a job :(
Posted on Reply
#48
infrared
Thanks m8, I'll keep this thread updated ;)
Posted on Reply
#52
HookeyStreet
Eat, sleep, game!
Well done on your 1st build m8.....I personally hate those clear 'display' cases. But you did a good job, very neat & tidy :)
Posted on Reply
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