OT: Building a new computer...

[Randallw]

GB RAM sticks, ok.

I last asked about it a month or so ago, I believe it was something like A$100. I assume that's per GB but I'll have to check. At the current exchange rate that's about US$90. I have a dread of doing technical stuff. Opening the case and blowing out dust is about as far as I feel comfortable with, although I have on ocassion replaced a CD or DVD drive.

I have no interest in HD-DvD or blue ray. I don't concern myslef with having the flashiest electronics. It took until my birthday 2 or so years ago before I got a DvD player. It broke awhile ago and I was only interested in a simple replacement without surround sound or fancy stuff. Of course being cheap sometimes mean you end up with cheap crap that goes though 2 machines quickly before you learn your lesson.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Installing stuff in the computer isn't that hard, although I do reccommend having a qualified person look over your shoulder until you get the hang of it - And for more complex stuff, a second head can help.

[Atrocities]

Again, water cooling the cpu or more case fans? Which do you think or know, is better?

[Ragnarok]

Atrocities said:
Again, water cooling the cpu or more case fans? Which do you think or know, is better?

Unless you have an extreme gaming/performance machine that rivals anything near supercomputer power, I'd go with case fans.

Water cooling is neat and all, but I am not comfortable with water running through my computer.

Oh, and for all of you who helped me when I created this thread, thanks again! I have my new computer and it has been running smoothly for several weeks now. Grand total for just the PC was $735. I'll post specs later on.

[AstralWanderer]

Atrocities said:
Again, water cooling the cpu or more case fans? Which do you think or know, is better?

Water cooling should be more effective and (almost surely, depends on exact setup) quieter than case fans - but it does have complications...

1). You have to make sure that your setup is totally leak-proof (conventional wisdom is to run the cooling for 24 hours without the PC switched on, in order to check for leaks). If you are chilling the water to below-ambient temperatures (e.g. by using a phase change or thermo-electric cooler on the water) then you may also need to lag everything to prevent condensation from causing similar problems (depending on the chiller temperature and the dew point of your PC's surroundings).

2). You will need to use distilled water with additives to avoid algae buildup (not harmful but looks bad) and galvanic corrision. These additives will need topping up every year or so.

3). Hardware changes (new graphics card, extra RAM) are harder to do with water-cooling pipework in the way. You may also need to drain the system to swap out a water-cooled item (CPU, GPU).

There are a number of forums with more information on the more "esoteric" forms of cooling - Xtreme Systems being one of the largest and worth checking out for those interested.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

'then you may also need to lag everything to prevent condensation from causing similar problems'

- I'm not familar with that use of the word lag and others may not be, either.

[Slick]

In most mechanical lingo: lag = thermally insulate

[AstralWanderer]

Lag = slang for insulate.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Thanks.

My Dad's found eight or nine definitions for 'Slew' and it's various...Word-alike-thingees.