Well, everything finally arrived
except the case. That figures since the
case is what I may need to modify a little
for my slightly larger PSU and the two
EVGA 8800 video cards. I test fitted the
video cards on the Asus P5N32-SLI MB and
found that Phil was correct in the fact
that all but one PCI slot is covered by
these monsters. The good thing is that
these cards' power plugs are not on the
ends of the cards but on the center edge.
Each card has two 6-pin external power
plugs which the PC Power and Cooling
Silencer 750 does supply 4 of them. The
SLI connector also is just to the rear of
the power plugs. In test fitting them on
the MB, the cards extend to about 1" from
the forward edge of the MB. This might
bail me out and let me use the upper HDD
rack but I will not be sure until I can
test fit everything into the case.
MEMORY....... I am probably a bit more
confused now than ever with memory ratings
and terminology. I ordered the Mushin XP
PC2-8500 memory, but the memory I recieved
says (sticker on each 1g module) XP
PC2-9200 as does the Mushkin packaging.
This would make it DDR2 1150 memory. SPD
ratings are 5-5-4-12 @ 1150 and 2.3v. I
suppose it was a replacement for the
PC2-8500. I don't think I will complain
about it to Newegg......:-). Actually, I
really don't need that speed, but it may
give me a bit more overhead for OC'ing the
E6600 and also let me tighten the timings
a bit at lower speeds. I hope some guy or
gal at Newegg's Memphis warehouse doesn't
get in trouble for sending me the wrong
memory......:-).


Ed

I installed everything into the Swiftech (Antec P180 liquid cooling
mod) case and fired it up and it posted normally. I removed the center
100mm fan in the bottom "tunnel" since it was just in the way of
everything and it is now wide open with the PSU drawing air from the
front across the 4 500mb WD HDDs and out the back. A lot of air is
moved, so I think that everything should work out fine. I decided to
only use the 4 HDDs instead of the 5 I originally was going to use.
Leaving the top HDD rack out of the case gives much better airflow with
the 100mm radiator and 100mm top-rear fan drawing air through the
top-front intake. XP Pro installed without issues. After installing the
latest NV video drivers I got a pop-up that told me that my system was
SLI ready and asked if I wanted to enable it. I just checked the yes box
and that was all that was needed there. Both NV 8800 GTX cards are
working fine. I haven't ran any bench tests yet, but will do so after I
get the system from my bench across the house to my computer room. This
is a bigger chore because this triple walled case is a heavy sucker and
my relatively older back will be straining.........:-).
I am a bit concerned with the MB (Asus P5N32-SLI) temps as they are
40-43c while the CPU is only 29C at idle. Under stress tests the MB
temps stay about the same and the CPU will only go to 40-42c (Coretemp
reading). Ambient room temp is approximately 25c give or take a couple
degs. With the top HDD rack removed I now have room to mount the 100mm
fan I removed from the bottom to the top and that may help bring down
the MB temps a bit. It is almost silent so it should not add noise to
this very quiet case. I have to give Swiftech a thumbs up on this liquid
cooled design overall. The case is very easy to modify to your needs and
the CPU cooling is very good.
I went through the overclocking settings and my mind is mush with
all the options. I am going to have to go back over all the posts and do
a bit of RTFM'ing to get a full understanding of what I am
doing.......:-). That is where I am now and everything has gone pretty
much without a hitch thusfar. Any info/hints are very welcome as always.


Ed

Ed Medlin wrote:
Do you have a thermocouple or a noncontact thermometer you can use to test
the MB temps?
--
Phil

"Phil, Non-Squid" <REMOVEphilME_lee (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote

Yes.........I use a thermistor that I can drop into any part of the interior
case to find if I have any hotspots. The hottest areas around the MB are
around the cooling fins of the chipsets heat-pipes. I am not sure where the
MB temp sensors are located, but I don't think I will worry too much about
it now that I have the case sides back on and the MB temps are now steady at
39c-41c and don't get higher than that. I think that is livable since it is
very quiet and the heat-pipes seem to be doing their job fairly well.

Ed