New Rig Suggestions

[Slaymate]

On the GPU, I have it plugged into the first available slot on the top. Looking at the motherboard, there are two other PCIEX16 slots, but the 3rd one is at the very bottom so wouldn't work. The 2nd one down might work, but you would cover up a PCI2 and PCIEX16 slot, so not certain about that one.

I don't know what mobo you have, but most P67 or Z68 are going to be the same. The top slot will be a x16/x8 slot, as in, with a single card the slot will run with a x16 bus speed but in a dual card setup it will only run at x8 bus speed. The second slot is a x8 slot, if you wanted to use the second slot it would limit your card a little but not dramatically. The third slot is going to be a x4 slot, this is meant to be a PhysX slot or it can be used with pci-e x1 devices. You wouldn't want to use the third slot for a single card setup.

As for the Noctua NH-D14 and the Corsair Vengeance memory, I wish I had known exactly what you ordered first as I could have warned you. I took the heatspreaders off my Corsairs and then I trimmed the heatspreaders down with a dremel. I should bought the Ripjaws and I will next time but I had originally planned to use a different heatsink but it just didn't work as good as I was hoping.

I would of ordered this memory and it's priced right.
Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8D-8GBXM

The Marvel 6Gb/s controller is alright but it's a little slower than the Intel 6Gb/s controller.

Throw that black bracket out of a moving car

You should take some time to properly route your cabling, not only does it look like crap but it blocks your airflow and traps heat.

 

[Foozle]

Thanks for the advice. I thought about shaving down the heat sink on the vengeance, but Newegg waived the restock fee and the g.skill ripsaw went down in price, so I'll make out cost-wise.

Like I said before, I'm not bothering with cable management until I install the new memory and NH-D14, as I'd have to potentially redo a lot of it anyway. Yeah, it's ugly and I'm appropriately ashamed.

 

[anime_dude07]

If you don't plan on burning Bluray Discs, I recommend drives like the Samsung SH 123A

Thanks! I'll keep that in mind for my build. However, Foozle has already ordered and recieved the other disc drive.

The extra 2 USB 3.0 panel came with the motherboard, but not with the case, and it would fit into the back of the case, taking up one of the expansion slot openings. I chose to plug the front USB 3.0 into the motherboard and didn't use the panel that came with the motherboard, as there wasn't another USB 3.0 socket. Hope this makes sense?

Regarding thermal paste, the cooling fan came with a small amount, so will probably use that. I worry a little about about how much to apply - says only a very small drop. Also worry about the weight, but it says it is fine.

Yes that makes perfect sense. And thanks for clearing that up (the expansion slot USB ports). I agree with your decision completely. Why would you want to reach to the back of the machine to us those extra USB 3.0 ports when the motherboard already has those on the back anyways?

And for the thermal paste/cpu cooling: you'd be surprised just how little thermal paste you need, or how much 'weight' the motherboard can support. I'm not saying you want to try to mount a 10 lb. weight on it, but it can support the NH-D14 without a problem.

I don't know what mobo you have, but most P67 or Z68 are going to be the same. The top slot will be a x16/x8 slot, as in, with a single card the slot will run with a x16 bus speed but in a dual card setup it will only run at x8 bus speed. The second slot is a x8 slot, if you wanted to use the second slot it would limit your card a little but not dramatically. The third slot is going to be a x4 slot, this is meant to be a PhysX slot or it can be used with pci-e x1 devices. You wouldn't want to use the third slot for a single card setup.

As for the Noctua NH-D14 and the Corsair Vengeance memory, I wish I had known exactly what you ordered first as I could have warned you. I took the heatspreaders off my Corsairs and then I trimmed the heatspreaders down with a dremel. I should bought the Ripjaws and I will next time but I had originally planned to use a different heatsink but it just didn't work as good as I was hoping.

I would of ordered this memory and it's priced right.
Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8D-8GBXM

The Marvel 6Gb/s controller is alright but it's a little slower than the Intel 6Gb/s controller.

Throw that black bracket out of a moving car

You should take some time to properly route your cabling, not only does it look like crap but it blocks your airflow and traps heat.

Thanks for clearing that all up Slaymate! The problem we were discussing with the GPU is that it's a single PCIe slot but it covers 3 expansion slots in the back. But great information nonetheless. The same thing with the Marvell controlers. I had never even heard of that before, but I honestly didn't take the time to research it.

I litereally laughed so hard my coworkers thought I had lost my mind when I read the bit about throwing the bracket out of a moving car. And I agree 100% with the cable management bit as well, but also agree with Foozle's later post that when he installs the new CPU cooler he will need to rerun everything anyways, so waiting for a little while isn't going to hurt it too much.

Thanks for the advice. I thought about shaving down the heat sink on the vengeance, but Newegg waived the restock fee and the g.skill ripsaw went down in price, so I'll make out cost-wise.

Like I said before, I'm not bothering with cable management until I install the new memory and NH-D14, as I'd have to potentially redo a lot of it anyway. Yeah, it's ugly and I'm appropriately ashamed.

Glad to hear they waived that fee, and that you'll end up doing alright cost-wise with the new memory. And yes, you should be ashamed of yourself... for now. Also, if you need any help related to cable management, feel free to email me. I'm not the best, but I do have a few experiences I can share, as well as ideas. Then you wouldn't have to be ashamed of your set up any longer!

 

[Slaymate]

The heatsink only has (2) fan cables. It will be much easier to do cable management with the NH-D14 uninstalled.

 

[Foozle]

I'm not at home to check this until the weekend, but wasn't sure if I'd have to remove the motherboard to install the cooling fan back plate. I know there is a large opening behind where the CPU is, but I seem to recall it was not lined up perfectly. Even if somewhat off center, I'm hoping I can slide the back plate through. Meanwhile, if someone has a link to good cable management tips for the coolermaster HAF 932, I'd be interested in seeing. Thanks!

 

[Foozle]

Relocated my motherboard fire incident to hardware troubleshooting section, as probably more appropriate there.

 

[Foozle]

Quick note on installing the Noctua NH-D14 cooling fan: The opening in the Coolmaster HAF 932 doesn't line up with the backplate holes of the Asus P8P67 Pro motherboard, so is necessary to remove the motherboard when installing the cooling fan. Not a big deal for me as I had to replace the fried motherboard anyway. As a note, the fan works great - idling at 28c and gaming around 37-40c, so running about 5c cooler at least, compared to the stock fan.

 

[Yami]

It's always easier to install a CPU heatsink when the motherboard isn't in the case anyway; much more room to work with.