First Time Build Questions

[GitarooMan]

Hello everyone, Im new to these forums but look forward to getting involved.
Im doing my first build (Ive ordered everything and its coming in 1-2 days) and I have a few questions. Here is a list of what I have purchased:
AMD 64 3200+
Abit Kv8 Max3 mobo
Sapphire Radeon 9800Pro
1Gb Geil pc3200 DDR
Antec Sonata Case that comes with a 380w PS
Arctic Silver Ceramique
DVD/CD etc.
My questions are 1.) Will the Antec case with the single 120mm fan be sufficient for cooling this thing?
2.) Will the power supply provided be sufficient enough to power it?
3.) Is the stock heatsink and fan provided with the chip good enough? (I dont plan to overclock or anything fancy right now).
4.) Finally are there any little tricks or hangups I should watch for when building?

Any help answering these questions would be greatly appreciated and I thank you in advance. I just dont want to run into something unexpected after spending all this money.

 

[Cheetah8799]

1) should be fine, especially since it is 120mm.
2) I think 380w is ok, but someone with more A64 experience should be able to give you more info
3) Stock heatsink should be fine, otherwise AMD wouldn't have included it.
4) here's a quote from the Arctic Silver site regarding the Ceramique stuff link. I've never used it, so can't comment.

Due to the unique shapes and sizes of the particles in Ceramique, it will take a minimum of 25 hours and several thermal cycles to achieve maximum particle to particle thermal conduction and for the heatsink to CPU interface to reach maximum conductivity. (This period will be longer in a system without a fan on the heatsink.) On systems measuring actual internal core temperatures via the CPU's internal diode, the measured temperature will often drop slightly over this "break-in" period. This break-in will occur during the normal use of the computer as long as the computer is turned off from time to time and the interface is allowed to cool to room temperature. Once the break-in is complete, the computer can be left on if desired.

Welcome to the forum!

 

[InlineFive]

1. Absolutely, 120mm fans are ideal for cooling well with minimal noise. Adding a second fan would be a bonus if you overclock a lot.
2. This would be enough. Antec and Fortron are a good brand to invest in.
3. This should be OK. I don't own an A64 so I can't tell you how well it cools if you overclock. However A64s have lower heat output so you should be fine no matter what way you go.
4. If you are using a SATA hard drive make sure to load the drivers for it (F6 during Windows Install) otherwise problems can happen.

Good luck!

-Por

 

[Regs]

Dont get the abit. Lower performer in all the benchmarks. Go with the Asus, Gigabyte, and MSI KT800 based motherboards.

And yes, the retail heatsink works terrific. 32c Idel, and 48c load. Thats with an overclock of 220 x 10 = 2.0 Ghz (Normal is 200 x10 = 2.0 Ghz).

 

[SilentZero]

1. Yes, the 120mm fan will be enought. I just finished building a gaming rig in a Antec P-160wf which also has only 1 120mm intake fan. Its PLENTY, and pretty darn quiet.

2. I personally wouldn't get a 380w PS. I would go with at least 400w, but id specifically recommend the Enermax 460w. Its great, and I have it running my AMD64 3400+ system right now.

3. Yes the stock heatsink is ok. It will provide adequate cooling for your CPU. But if you want to go the "extra mile" then get a aftermarket HSF like the Zalman or Thermatake Venus 12. I am using the latter and it works very well, but can be pretty loud if turned up.

I agree with Regs. Id go with the MSI K8T NEO FIS2R above all. I just switched from the ABIT and now running the MSI and it works great...definately an improvement.

Good luck with the build!

 

[Shaocaholica]

I love it how power supply requirements/recommendations have skyroketted in the past couple of years. 400W minimum...right

. 380W is more than enough unless the PSU is junk which I doubt.

 

[Yossarian]

personally I prefer to match exhaust fans w/inlet fans for better airflow but you don't really need to. I went w/the MSI board over the ABIT after reading a lot about both of them but I'm sure it will be fine. your system looks great, good luck

 

[stat1c]

power supply minimums/requirements have skyrocketed for a reason. serial ata drives, video cards that need there own power source, cases with 3 - 6 fans, etc... it all just seems to add up quickly

 

[kyparrish]

just like mentioned before w/ the ceramique...you might notice your temps under load get cooler a few days after you assemble your rig...mine dropped 2-3 degrees Celsius after a day or 2

 

[axemanxt40]

I would just go with a 480 watt PSU if I were you, and I recommend Thermaltake's Silent Purepower PSUs. I have the 560 watt one in my rig...first off it is very quiet, second off I get very stable voltages on all my rails they hardly fluctuate when I run it through a quality surge protector, and even on a crappy cheap one it ran very stable and didn't fluctuate too much!

BTW welcome to AT and good luck on your first build!