# kickbass4777's i7 WOW machine



## kickbass4777 (Aug 18, 2009)

so i have my system up and running with the following specs :

dx58so intel board

i7 920

6gb mushkin 1600

ati 4890 (xfx xxx) @ 900 mhz

320 gb 7200 rpm wd

cd/dvd combo

2 120mm fans
5 80mm fans
1 140mm fan

pics coming soon


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## RadeonX2 (Aug 18, 2009)

congrats then, how much did it cost you?


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## kickbass4777 (Aug 18, 2009)

my blackberry is not co-operating so no pics tonight . but tommorow : ) 
$900 build


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## EnergyFX (Aug 18, 2009)

Here, allow me to add some photos of your computer for you 

















Hmm, why would anyone ever buy that case   haha, I know some good mods we can do to it!


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## kickbass4777 (Aug 18, 2009)

yeah i have 4 pics on my black berry that wont send to my email : /


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## kickbass4777 (Aug 19, 2009)

*latest pics , finally got them off the blackberry*

http://img.techpowerup.org/090819/IMG00013-20090817-0016.jpg
http://img.techpowerup.org/090819/IMG00017-20090818-2309.jpg
http://img.techpowerup.org/090819/IMG00018-20090818-2331.jpg
http://img.techpowerup.org/090819/IMG00019-20090818-2341.jpg


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## JATownes (Aug 19, 2009)

Nice Rig...Congrats...Only suggestion would be some cable management...


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## EnergyFX (Aug 19, 2009)

Kickbass, is this your first build?


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## Wile E (Aug 19, 2009)

Not bad. But out of curiosity, why the Smackover board, and not a Gigabyte, DFI, Asus, or other top tier board maker? Not that the Intel board is bad, just that there are better.


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## Kenshai (Aug 19, 2009)

Wile E said:


> Not bad. But out of curiosity, why the Smackover board, and not a Gigabyte, DFI, Asus, or other top tier board maker? Not that the Intel board is bad, just that there are better.



Possible he picked up the intel retail edge deal. I'm curious as well though.


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## kickbass4777 (Aug 19, 2009)

i am a retail employee and the intel board is just to hold me over until i can bank some cash for an asus board . Cable management is def a work in progress . Im actually thinking of watercooling to get rid of my 9 case fans or at least get rid of some of them lol plus the lower temps would be great . this was my first build in a LONG time , like 5 years . My last machine was a pentium 4 2ghz lol . The cold cathode is sound sensitive so whenever me or my roomate talks it flashes unless we change the setting on it . So far the system is performing well , wow 100+ fps almost all the time . It crashed out of farcry 2 but that was before i installed service packs it should work fine now .


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## EnergyFX (Aug 19, 2009)

crashes are to be expected until you get it all updated and tuned in.


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## Wile E (Aug 19, 2009)

kickbass4777 said:


> i am a retail employee and the intel board is just to hold me over until i can bank some cash for an asus board . Cable management is def a work in progress . Im actually thinking of watercooling to get rid of my 9 case fans or at least get rid of some of them lol plus the lower temps would be great . this was my first build in a LONG time , like 5 years . My last machine was a pentium 4 2ghz lol . The cold cathode is sound sensitive so whenever me or my roomate talks it flashes unless we change the setting on it . So far the system is performing well , wow 100+ fps almost all the time . It crashed out of farcry 2 but that was before i installed service packs it should work fine now .



Well hell, can't argue with that logic. Like I said, the Smackover is still a good board. And this build is a damn site better than a 2GHz P4 (I know, I used to own one. lol.)


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## kickbass4777 (Aug 20, 2009)

heres what i would like to have in a custom side panel .   any suggestions are welcome to improve airflow and keep my i7 cooler.


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## EnergyFX (Aug 21, 2009)

kickbass4777 said:


> http://img.techpowerup.org/090820/base template.jpg
> heres what i would like to have in a custom side panel .   any suggestions are welcome to improve airflow and keep my i7 cooler.



Hey KB, are you using the stock cooler that came with the processor?

I think you would get better results with a good aftermarket CPU cooler rather than a fan mounted in the window.  Since you have a fan mounted in the drive bays that gives you two 120mm fans on the front panel drawing a large amount of air into the case.  Since this air is already flowing from front to back it would be smart to get a CPU cooler that takes advantage of that direction of flow.  A cooler designed something like the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme would be the best design (the Thermalright is just intended to be an example... you can find similarly designed coolers for much less money, although the Thermalright is a very nice and high quality cooler and wouldn't be a bad choice if you want to spend the money on it).  This style cooler can be mounted to take advantage of front to back air flow and also takes advantage of the rear exhaust fan by depositing hot air from the CPU right at the rear fan where it can be expelled from the case immediately.

I think this would be a better option over having me make you a side window with a fan mounted for the CPU.  If money is an issue then I suggest getting the CPU cooler first and having me do the window mod for you later.  Mounting fans for the Video Card is still a good idea... but I think you will be happier with a good CPU cooler first and a nice side window with GPU fan holes later.


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## Wile E (Aug 21, 2009)

EnergyFX said:


> Hey KB, are you using the stock cooler that came with the processor?
> 
> I think you would get better results with a good aftermarket CPU cooler rather than a fan mounted in the window.  Since you have a fan mounted in the drive bays that gives you two 120mm fans on the front panel drawing a large amount of air into the case.  Since this air is already flowing from front to back it would be smart to get a CPU cooler that takes advantage of that direction of flow.  A cooler designed something like the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme would be the best design (the Thermalright is just intended to be an example... you can find similarly designed coolers for much less money, although the Thermalright is a very nice and high quality cooler and wouldn't be a bad choice if you want to spend the money on it).  This style cooler can be mounted to take advantage of front to back air flow and also takes advantage of the rear exhaust fan by depositing hot air from the CPU right at the rear fan where it can be expelled from the case immediately.
> 
> I think this would be a better option over having me make you a side window with a fan mounted for the CPU.  If money is an issue then I suggest getting the CPU cooler first and having me do the window mod for you later.  Mounting fans for the Video Card is still a good idea... but I think you will be happier with a good CPU cooler first and a nice side window with GPU fan holes later.



I agree with this 100%. Grab a good cpu cooler first.


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## kickbass4777 (Aug 21, 2009)

Wile E said:


> I agree with this 100%. Grab a good cpu cooler first.



i have a scythe mugen 2 cooler already installed . it cools good the side fan over top of it is purely to get more cold air moving through it . my temps are ok but i want better so i can oc. 
suggestions?


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## EnergyFX (Aug 21, 2009)

kickbass4777 said:


> i have a scythe mugen 2 cooler already installed . it cools good the side fan over top of it is purely to get more cold air moving through it . my temps are ok but i want better so i can oc.
> suggestions?



Do you have a fan mounted on the Mugen?


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## kickbass4777 (Aug 21, 2009)

yep . push pull method , 1 120 mm , 1 80mm , the blow the heat right into the exhaust fan at the back of the case


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## EnergyFX (Aug 21, 2009)

When you get a chance could you post a close-up of your CPU cooler setup please.


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