Hey, good luck on those CPA exams, Mep. Me, I never could do math worth a damn. This explains why I'm loathe to try CPU overclocking. GPU OCing is so easy...move the slider to the right until it stops working.
Just thought I'd pop in and announce, my first build is up, running, and stable. I literally stood there with my finger on the power button for a solid minute before I worked up the nerve to turn it on. POST'd fine right away, installed Windows, and that was that.
My 9700 seems to keep my AMD 2.8GHz at around 28-32, depending on, I believe, the moon phase. I used the standard STG-1 grease, applied to both the HSF and the CPU over the entire contact area, using the brush that came in the bottle. I then scraped off the excess with a clean piece of stiff plastic (about the stiffness of a credit card), wiped the brush with a clean sheet of ordinary printing paper, and then evened everything out.
But honestly, I really don't think you did anything WRONG in your installation. It's a quad-core processor. You've got, basically, two of my processors in the same amount of space. I would expect a little extra heat. I think that the degree to which it spikes under loading--if that monster ever does load under normal operation--is more important, and would be a real indicator that your HSF/thermal grease was not doing its job.
You're right, the Zalman fits quite easily into the 900. A much more important issue is airflow from the front fan. Rounded IDE cables, which I don't have yet, would be helpful. I would cram everything down below, but then I wouldn't get very much airflow to my PSU, GPU, and sound card.
Mep, what speeds do you run your fans at? I've found that I actually get the best airlow and case temps (checked with a digital and mercury thermometer) with all three 120mm fans on low, the 200mm on high, and the Zalman set to about 1620/1626 RPM (the just a tiny twist above the lowest setting on FanMate2). With those settings, the case is usually only 0-2F above room temperature. At higher settings, temps are higher, and my calibrated handometer tells me less air is getting sucked out, almost none via the top vent.
I'll probly be posting pictures on the forum fairly soon, I just have to organize the cables into a more permanent layout. Kinda card because I wanted to use the Ultra X3's cables, which are attractive and all-black, but the size of the 900 makes it a rather long stretch in some spots.
Future upgrades? Around Christmas, I'll treat myself to a 150GB WD Raptor X. My CPU usage is only 12% while my HD is at 100%. Bottleneck, anyone? And when the price drops a little on the 8800s (probly this summer when the next-gen cards get released), I'll pop one of them in. And in the nearer future, I'm thinking of trying to find a cold cathode kit that won't shock me, short out and kill my system, burn out in two weeks, or catch fire. I'm open to suggestions. The cold cathode kit is a big step for me. I've never been proud enough of my computer to WANT to illuminate the insides any.
Thanks, guys.
Just thought I'd pop in and announce, my first build is up, running, and stable. I literally stood there with my finger on the power button for a solid minute before I worked up the nerve to turn it on. POST'd fine right away, installed Windows, and that was that.
My 9700 seems to keep my AMD 2.8GHz at around 28-32, depending on, I believe, the moon phase. I used the standard STG-1 grease, applied to both the HSF and the CPU over the entire contact area, using the brush that came in the bottle. I then scraped off the excess with a clean piece of stiff plastic (about the stiffness of a credit card), wiped the brush with a clean sheet of ordinary printing paper, and then evened everything out.
But honestly, I really don't think you did anything WRONG in your installation. It's a quad-core processor. You've got, basically, two of my processors in the same amount of space. I would expect a little extra heat. I think that the degree to which it spikes under loading--if that monster ever does load under normal operation--is more important, and would be a real indicator that your HSF/thermal grease was not doing its job.
You're right, the Zalman fits quite easily into the 900. A much more important issue is airflow from the front fan. Rounded IDE cables, which I don't have yet, would be helpful. I would cram everything down below, but then I wouldn't get very much airflow to my PSU, GPU, and sound card.
Mep, what speeds do you run your fans at? I've found that I actually get the best airlow and case temps (checked with a digital and mercury thermometer) with all three 120mm fans on low, the 200mm on high, and the Zalman set to about 1620/1626 RPM (the just a tiny twist above the lowest setting on FanMate2). With those settings, the case is usually only 0-2F above room temperature. At higher settings, temps are higher, and my calibrated handometer tells me less air is getting sucked out, almost none via the top vent.
I'll probly be posting pictures on the forum fairly soon, I just have to organize the cables into a more permanent layout. Kinda card because I wanted to use the Ultra X3's cables, which are attractive and all-black, but the size of the 900 makes it a rather long stretch in some spots.
Future upgrades? Around Christmas, I'll treat myself to a 150GB WD Raptor X. My CPU usage is only 12% while my HD is at 100%. Bottleneck, anyone? And when the price drops a little on the 8800s (probly this summer when the next-gen cards get released), I'll pop one of them in. And in the nearer future, I'm thinking of trying to find a cold cathode kit that won't shock me, short out and kill my system, burn out in two weeks, or catch fire. I'm open to suggestions. The cold cathode kit is a big step for me. I've never been proud enough of my computer to WANT to illuminate the insides any.
Thanks, guys.
Check out (if you haven't already) 
However, the Q6600 (B3 stepping) does run pretty hot. 
Actually, I haven't really spent any time experimenting with airflow. I'm very impressed with your testing methods, however. 
