Thread: Replacing a few computer parts for some better stuff..

I am currently using:

Phenom II x4 945
Gigabyte ga-ma69gm-s2h
4 x 1gb DDR2 800
GTX 260 Core 216
OCz Modxtreme 700w
Seagate Barracuda 7200 1tb

My new setup should provide a good improvement. My budget was limited so I decided to get a motherboard I could run my current CPU on that has more overclocking features along with support for the AM3+ chips. I also wanted USB 3.0 and SATA 6/gb.

Phenom II x4 945 (oc) with a Coolermaster 212
Gagabyte ga-970a-UD3
2 x 4gb DDR3 1600
XFX Radeon 6950 2gb

The rest will remain the same. Everything will be here Friday. For the new heatsink, mobo, ram, and video card it was 444 shipped from Amazon. Was 491 after sales tax and shipping on Newegg. I live in TN so there is a warehouse in memphis... Oh and my Phenom is a 95w chip so it should work out a bit more for OC. I got it at 3.2 now with the cooler that came off my 6400+ with no problems but of course the multiplier is locked so I can't change that.

should have went with the Hyper N 520. I have it on my xII 565 3.4 that is unlocked to a quad and it holds a stable low 30*'s(C) even during game play. Haven't overclocked yet but probably will soon. Worth the extra $20 IMO, but the 212 isnt bad. Just like the idea of 2 fans working to keep the heatsink cold and the full copper plate on the bottom transfers heat so much better than aluminum.


Other than that... enjoy, nice build and a great price.

It was a tight budget and I got it up to the most I could afford to do. The 212 can be set up with another fan as well. It will work for my purposes. The gigabyte board has the 8+2 power phase so compared to the other 970 boards it stands out. I have had no trouble at all with the this ddr2 board I am using now. I know the 2nd PCIE x16 slot is only 4x but that is still enough for a 2nd 6950 down the road... I would just need to upgrade my psu. I think everything that I picked should work out great. The ram I picked is even on the mobo support list and I didn't intend on using the list in the first place..

Thanks though! I looked at the N 520 it is a great looking cooler!

I have the 212 on an Athlon ii x4 got it up to 3.4ghz and still idles at 20c.
I put another 200mm on it though for the push-pull

If you are interested in getting rid of your parts you're replacing, hit me up in pm.

So check this out! I was out and about with my son today and I went to this store called Essex. I found this for sale for 72.99.. I know it had been out for awhile and then I looked up the price that people paid for it back in the day and I was HOLY ****! I pulled it out of the box to inspect it and be sure everything was there and sure enough it was! I told myself that I was not gonna spend anymore because i need to save the rest but I bought it.

Newegg.com - Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case

Guess who just got Jelly....

<---- This Guy

I love my haf 922

Rocking a good ol' CM690 (1st gen). 5 140mm fans, 2 120s, and the one on the PS... it flows nicely. Always was a fan of the Antec tho, but I got mine on sale at Fry's for like $90s, retail at the time was $140.

My current case is a Xion Onyx. I have used it for several years now and intended to keep using it. Now it goes to the side for a bit. I like antec cases as well. Just about everything they have gets bought like crazy.

Oh... the temp differences alone will amaze you. Breathable cases allow much better flow and much better performance due to lower temps.

Invest in another fan for the 212 cooler and make sure one pushes and the other pulls and the air direction goes up and vents out the top or to the back toward the rear case fan. Keeping hot air flowing out is key.

My current case does a very good job but I imagine it will not be nearly as good as the 1200. My current case has:

120mm front, 140mm side, 80mm side - intake fans

120mm back exhaust

I have a extra 120mm LED fan sitting here and if i need to take some out of the Xion case I have access to them as well.

So I got everything put together. Been installing some games and running updates before I start playing. I ran into a few issues with the Coolermaster 212. It covers the ram slot on the left. Lucky for me that is the number 4 slot. I was able too use two of the others for my 2 chips. If i ever want to add more I will either need to pull the ram out i have or take the cooler off and replace it with something else. The other issue the cooler caused is that I was unable to mount a 120mm fan on the side panel bracket that is attached to it. So I left it off the side panel and used the extra fan attachment and set it up as a pull on the cpu cooler. Everything else went smooth as butter except for the wiring. There is a ton of wires in the case and it was difficult to hid them all. What I came up with will work for now but in the future I may open it up and try some more.

I opened my case back up today and moved things around for better looks and airflow. It looks much much better now. I also noticed that even with the 212 my temps were higher than what I expected at 30c idle. So while I had it open I took the heatsink off and the slower pull fan off the heatsink. I cleaning the thermal compound up and re applied it in a better fashion. Now i am idling at 22c and that is overclocked at 3.2 from 3.0. At 30c it was with no overclock.

When I first installed my N520 I was worried that I wouldn't be able to install the ram as the fan extended over the slots... but I held my tongue just right and got them in without having to remove the cooler and reinstall. But the fitment in my CM690 is so close to the side intake fan that if you push in on the side of the case the copper tube tips rub against the blades... like 1/16th of an inch space, but just enough lol.

Glad you got it running right and a good start to overclocking. My 565 was a standard 3.4 as a dual and with the core unlock turning into a quad I haven't (yet) found a need to push it any, but supposedly on air cooling, unlocked, testing showed it could push to a 3.8-4.0... but I am nervous about pushing it that far. That's a big jump and it is my main machine. Don't want to compromise stability when I don't really need to.

That is really close! Its good that it fits though... I think I might push mine too 3.4 one day but right now it is running great. The compound is setting a bit. I played Supreme Commander 2 earlier 4 player FFA and the temps got up to 34c and now they are back down to 20c at idle. That is with all my intake fans on low. My 212+ actually does cover up a slot which is a bummer but with 8gb I will be fine lol

I should have took some pics of it while i had it out