Upgrade possible?
Hi all,
I'd like to upgrade my 3 year old PC. My setup is as follows:
- Coolermaster CM 690 Dominator black ATX http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=2908
- Coolermaster 460W dual 12V rail power supply
- Intel core 2 quad Q9550 http://ark.intel.com/products/33924/Intel-Core2-Quad-Processor-Q9550-(12M-Cache-2_83-GHz-1333-MHz-FSB
- Arctic cooling freezer 7 pro [ame="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Arctic-Cooling-Freezer-Socket-Cooler/dp/tech-data/B000KB96QS/ref=de_a_smtd"]Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Socket 775 CPU Cooler: ARCTIC-COOLING: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories[/ame]
- Gigabyte GA-P35-DSR motherboard (don't know what revision)
- 6 GB PC 6400 DDR2 RAM (8GB max)
- 1GB Geforce 8800gt
The two areas that I'd like to improve on are reducing render times and the noise from PC. I should be OK maxing out at 8GB of RAM but I'd really like to have some more cores/threads as I do a lot of still rendering. Also the PC is too noisy for my liking, but I have no idea what the cause is. I'm not sure about component compatibility, so advice is appreciated.
Is it possible to make a worthwhile upgrade to this, or would the cost make it be better to invest in a new PC?
I'd like to upgrade my 3 year old PC. My setup is as follows:
- Coolermaster CM 690 Dominator black ATX http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=2908
- Coolermaster 460W dual 12V rail power supply
- Intel core 2 quad Q9550 http://ark.intel.com/products/33924/Intel-Core2-Quad-Processor-Q9550-(12M-Cache-2_83-GHz-1333-MHz-FSB
- Arctic cooling freezer 7 pro [ame="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Arctic-Cooling-Freezer-Socket-Cooler/dp/tech-data/B000KB96QS/ref=de_a_smtd"]Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Socket 775 CPU Cooler: ARCTIC-COOLING: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories[/ame]
- Gigabyte GA-P35-DSR motherboard (don't know what revision)
- 6 GB PC 6400 DDR2 RAM (8GB max)
- 1GB Geforce 8800gt
The two areas that I'd like to improve on are reducing render times and the noise from PC. I should be OK maxing out at 8GB of RAM but I'd really like to have some more cores/threads as I do a lot of still rendering. Also the PC is too noisy for my liking, but I have no idea what the cause is. I'm not sure about component compatibility, so advice is appreciated.
Is it possible to make a worthwhile upgrade to this, or would the cost make it be better to invest in a new PC?
Replies
As for the noise, the most effective option without resorting to water cooling is to get large fans (120mm or larger) that are speed adjustable. You'll have to do some testing to find the best balance between cooling and noise.
EDIT: I think this is similar to the model I described:
http://www.arctic.ac/en/p/cooling/case-fans/78/arctic-f-pro.html?c=2183
Deekei: Good point about the DDR2, it'd mean I'd need to upgrade all of my RAM too.
The Dominator 690 link specifies support up to 7 x 120mm fans. I think I have 3 fans inside at the mo; 2 on the side of the case and 1 on the base. For noise, would it be best to get more and slow their speed down, or would 3 x 120 suffice?
I once read that the PSU or GPU could be the cause of a noisy PC. Is this true, and if so, how likely is it and are there any easy tests to find the source?
Thanks.
Speed of ram, and then quantity is very important if you're running out of ram and resorting to virtual memory, that will cause a big hit.
With 6GB, you're probably not running out of ram often.
6GB in itself is a strange amount to have on a dual channel board though, 2x3? 3x2? you want to run even pairs, ie: 4x2gb or 2x4gb with dual channel ram. 3x2gb means your board is likely going to revert back to single channel.
Things to improve noise:
1. Buy a noise-friendly low power usage video card(you don't need a beefcake of a card for most things these days) often times noise levels vary heavily from different manufacturers with the same card. You can even get a passively cooled GPU, but you wont be able to get anything too high end.
2. Set up custom fan controls on your cpu, any case fans you have and run them at lower speeds, as long as you have decent ventilation and you dont live in a 75-85 degree + house, you should be ok.
3. Buy a SSD for better performance and lower noise from disk access.
4. Buy a PSU that is rated well for sound
5. Buy a CPU cooler that is better than stock, don't go nuts, just something $20-40 or so that gets good reviews for noise.
Earthquake: I've currently got 3 x 2GB in there. Should all of the RAM sticks match, or are just matching pairs fine? (The company had installed 2 x 2GB Corsair, though I'd ordered Kingston. I found this out when I added the extra 2GB of Kingston). The PC's showing up as 6GB, so I presume all's ok.
I'd expect the fans to be the main noise culprit, but again, is there a way to find out? It doesn't need to be silent, so if changing the fans removes the bulk of the noise, I'm happy. Not sure if I could slow my existing fans down as I think the system's overheating when doing long renders.
The Arctic freezer is the problem. Those particular aftermarket coolers are no better than the stock coolers and they make a lot of noise. Get yourself something with a large heatsink and can accept a 120mm (or whatever your case can accommodate) variable speed fan. Any 80-90mm fans tend to be noisy because they need to spin faster to move the same amount of air a 120mm does. My AMD Phenom II x4 955 BE has a Zerotherm NV120 (Low RPM 120mm) and it idles at ambient temp.
It could also be your PSU fan. I'm reading some comments on it on newegg and the 120mm version seems to run very fast under load, which makes it noisy. If you're frequently drawing on the PSU at full capacity, there's no way it will stay quiet and still work. It's best to overshoot your power needs by 100W so you don't make it run hot, making the fans spin faster and you will get a longer life from the PSU as well.
I would recommend this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003
It allows BIOS controlled fan speed so you can tweak the fan until you can't hear it, but still cools well. Some BIOS firmware allows for temperature sensors to control the speed of the fan.
RAM: Ditch the third stick or get another one. Running one stick in single channel mode creates a bottleneck. Always install in pairs for dual channel and threes for triple channel boards.
Is it fine to install another 2GB stick of Kingston (same Mhz), giving me 2x2GB Corsair and 2x2GB Kingston?
Yes that should be fine. Generally its best to install all the same brand and exact same type, but it shouldn't cause any real problems.
What I was saying about 6GB wasn't that it wouldn't work, just that it would revert back to single-channel mode, and thus be a bit slower. I'm not 100% on this but its how it used to work, I think it depends on your mobo specifically. - Also, not sure what os you have, but if you have over 4GB, you should really be running Win7 64.
If you think the fans may be the problem, the easiest thing to do is simply unplug your cpu and case fans, one by one, and turn your computer on. Don't run it for 20 minutes or anything just long enough hear the difference, you should be able to nail down the loudest fan(s) pretty quickly. Remove your video card too, sometimes GPU fans can be very loud.
Oh and, your CPU really shouldn't be overheating even at full load, unless you've overclocked it or have some other problem. Make sure you blow out all of the dust from all your fans, heatsinks, video card, PSU etc. Also check your cables in your case to make sure you have good airflow, and don't keep your computer inside any sort of enclosure. Its also possible the cpu fan you have is mounted poorly, it can be a good idea to remount it with fresh thermal paste if it doesn't have a good contact(make sure to carefully clean off the old thermal paste).
Mixing RAM
Using bigger fans will make it possible to push more volumes of air with less noise.
Also a big important on thermalpaste, clean with rubbing alcohol and microfiber cloth, then apply a grain of thermalpaste like this:
And then mount the fan back on it.
Applying thermalpaste the wrong way will ruin the whole heat transfer thing going on, and the cpu will heat up more.
Not to steal away at all from the thread's purpose, but what type of thermal paste is that? Looks significantly different than the stuff I've used. Is that that arctic silver stuff?
I've been looking into remounting my CPU fan, cleaning off the old compound and putting on some new stuff, so this is interesting to see.
This is good advice. If what you have works together, get another stick of that exact same model and brand of RAM to pair with it (i.e. Speed, CAS latency, voltage, density).
I couldn't say for certain which is to blame. What EQ suggests is a good idea. Clean and test your fans individually. Then try to locate the source of the noise. If your case fans are running fast, you might want to get an analog fan control or possibly adjust it in the BIOS settings if it's available.
Again, the Arctic Freezers are crap. Don't use it. Get yourself a large heatsink with a lot of surface area (lots of fins and lots of pipes) and a big fan (120mm or bigger is keen, but a 100-110 will do if you don't have the space).
If you want to improve your render time, you're going to have to move to an i7 Sandy Bridge, which means a new motherboard. Anything less will be too parallel of an upgrade. Then, while you're at it, you might as well just get the fastest RAM your new motherboard can handle. 8GB of identical dual channel DIMMs should be fine.
I'm not certain that it is overheating. I turned an alarm setting on in the BIOS (cannot recall for what - fan idle or overheating or something), and now, when it renders for a while, the alarm sounds. Yes, it was overclocked when bought.
Greevar: You say, 'if I don't have the space', yet my case specifies up to 120mm. Is the space dependent on the other components inside?
I think I'll hold out for a while on a major upgrade then. I'll fix up the RAM and the noise, and then get another PC further down the road and probably use this as an extra render machine.
Thanks all for the rest of the tips.
You do have to consider other things like the GPU location and the height of your RAM (some have huge heat spreaders) for example. It's not a huge deal, but be mindful of it when you pick a heat sink. The toughest ones to fit in a case at those that have a large fan that is parallel to the motherboard. They tend to block access to the first RAM slots and can make it a tight fit for your GPU. Just something to keep in mind.