My p182-Quad computer (lots pics warning) - Overclock.net

wuyanxu · 09-28-07

i finially bothered to get off the beautifully rendered games to write up the project log. otherwise these photos would be wasted and you guys won't see how good P182 is.

here we have it, every single component lined up in their boxes.

above, we have:
-Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 stepping, cooled by Zalman CNPS9500
-Abit iP35 Pro mainboard
-OCZ 2x1GB 800Mhz Platinum rev2 RAM
-BFG 8800GTS 320MB OC
-Western Digital SE16 500GB AAKS
-Antec p182 case powered by Corsair Hx620w with Samsung SATA 20x DVD RW
-LG 22inch L226WTQ 2ms 3000:1 LCD with Logitech Media keyboard and Logitech 1000dpi mouse

CPU with Arctic Silver 5, quad FTW

the "test bed" (just a spare bed we had)

a few angle shots of the build when it was under testing. pretty CPU cooler, lol

after testing for a day, i decided to install it into the case.
this were all the cabel needed for this computer (note the coloured power cables, see below for more on that)

half way though stuffing them into the back of the motherboard tray

finially, everything tied up and orginised

the finished "product". notice how tidy it is

Antec P182's design is superb, the lower chamber is a wind tunnel, pulling air across the hard disk drive, and blowing fresh air to the power supply

Antec p182, the best looking case with the best design for under £100

that sticker wrote: "My Big F'n Gun" (came with BFG 8800GTS)

because the Antec p182 came with 3 tri-speed fans, i decided to install 2 additional fans to maximise cooling inside this case. but due to me being a cheapskate, i bought the cheapest 120mm fan i can get: 4 pack for a fiver, so i need means to control its noise. the 7v fan mod first came to mind, but i am worried about it blowing the pricy Corsiar Hx power supply, so i turned to Zalman CPU cooler's package, it came with a FanMate2 controller.
so after a bit of planning and research about pin-outs, i set to work: soldering.

i will need to combine these 3 together to make my own 4-pin molex can speed controller

see my 1337 soldering skills

2 down, 2 to go.

the finished product.

this may not seem much, but it is able to control any number 4-pin molex fans (connected in parallel) from full 12v to 5v with just a simple turn of a stick.
this is placed by the bottom fan, see above photo.

overclocking has been spectacular, the Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 ran at 333x9 without the need to change any voltages. now i am settled to run at 388x8=3.1Ghz with Vcore at 1.3950 set in the Bios, 1:1 FSB:RAM ratio. will push the RAM a bit more, currently at 4-4-4-12, 2.05v. temperatures are very good, all 4 cores idel below 40c; while surfing and other light tasks, it is always around 40c. when all 4 cores were under load by Prime95, temperature max out at 65c after just under 2 hours test. while gaming, it never went above 55.

the rig can now play almost every single game on max, eg. Oblivion all max with forced 16xAF, 8x supersampling AA without dropping below 40FPS; Halo 2 Vista all max with forced 16xAF, 8x supersampling AA silky smooth at 60FPS (VSync on); STALKER all max full dynamic shadow (but at 1440x900) and still always above 30FPS.

the only game i am a tiny bit disappointed was World in Conflict, where "High" was the only preset with acceptable framerate, "Highest" preset is a bit too much on the video RAM. however, i don't mind this as i am 100% going to upgrad to 9800GTS or 3900XT/Pro with more than 512MB of vRAM next year, and enjoy Crysis with all 4 cores.

i've had great fun building this computer. special thanks to everyone who answered my questions and helped me in building it.

update:
just to update on that i have change to 8800GTX for £190 GBP and got a far better air cooler: TRUE120. anyway, pictures!

OCZedd · 09-28-07

Hey, thats an awesome build and nice pics too. I like the way you just chucked it on the mobo box on the bed

Thats pretty good also because I was thinking of picking up a similar system, and from what you said about the P182 I cant wait to get it. One question how quite is the case when the fans are on low/medium when browsing web etc... and what is the most noisy component?

Overclock · 09-28-07

Enjoy your crappy A-Bit board. Otherwise nice.

wuyanxu · 09-28-07

Quote:

Originally Posted by OCZedd

One question how quite is the case when the fans are on low/medium when browsing web etc... and what is the most noisy component?

the most noisy component is my CPU cooler, the fan is just too small, and it is too close to the top opening, so sound will just come out. second most noisy is my GTS with standard 8800 fan when at 100%, but running at 70% is efficient for cooling even at 675/2100. temps will never go above 70 (which is the next fan speed level) i think it's the wind-tunnel that's blowing very cool air directly to the can of the graphics card that's making a difference.
and the hard disk drive in the lower chamber really works at reducing the noise, when i installed Vista, the WD AAKS was a bit noisier than my WD 250GB KS, but after putting it in the lower cage, i can't hear a thing. temps are great also, was 41 just after install Vista, now it's 32, tops 35 during defrag.
so every single component in the case is cooled by filtered air from the front. the best case money can buy

only problem was that the SATA cable were a little tight, (see lower chamber shot of SATA5's cable is wedged in) but it is reachable.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Overclock

Enjoy your crappy A-Bit board. Otherwise nice.

what do you mean? this iP35-Pro is top of its class, overclocks to 500FSB no problem, and many people buy this instead of Asus or Gigabyte (especially on OCuk forums)