First post, by luckybob
- Rank
- l33t++
This is the first system that I started building for the sole purpose of retro gaming. And after almost a year it "almost" finished! YAY!
First off some specs:
case: Lian-Li PC-7B case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?It … N82E16811112099
Motherboard: MSI-6501 Master
http://techreport.com/r.x/mpx-boards/msi-board.jpg
Memory: 4x 512mb Kingston ddr-400 HyperX
http://images.sudhian.com/review/memory/ECC%2 … on/Kingston.jpg
cpu: TWO Amd 2800+ MP processors
Cooling: 1x Thermalright SK6 1x stock intel cooler (big s370 one)
This has been a HUGE hangup for me. more below
Video: 3dFX Voodoo 5 5500 With modified heatsinks.
This was fun. I put a pair of these heatsinks on it: http://www.ebay.com/itm/280745410010
They dont quite fit, I had to chop up the fins on one to let it fit, but it cools very well.
40gb boot drive, 100gb iso/game drive
gigabit nic
usb2 card
Sound: Creative Soundblaster Audigy
This card is the 2nd thorn in what I would consider a "finished" setup.
First off, is cooling. I'm using a 2 cpu board, so NATURALLY both coolers has to be the same. If not, My OCD will NEVER let me rest. That being said. I have three differnt Thermalrights; SK6, SLK900U, and the SP-97. All will fit, but only the SK6 allows for the 2nd heatsink to fit.
So my quandary is this; do I find a 2nd SK6, or a PAIR of something else? I'd like to have a pair of Alpha 8045's but I think they are even more rare than the thermalrights. It seems that everyone just scraps them for the copper, and I don't blame them. I don't think there is a market on ebay for old aftermarket heatsinks. (except for the zalman 7000 series it seems) The temps of the SK6 arent really worth writing home about. In fact, the full load temp is about 50C. The intel heatsink holds its ground at 63C... ICK! I want something "namebrand". for example Thermalright, or Alpha.
2nd issue is this, The sound card. Currently I have the Audigy 1. Its seems to work fine. I get a lot of "noise" with voices in unreal and some random noise in other games, but it may be the fact that this card has been through hell and back, TWICE. So I think there is room for improvement. I have a MX300 card, with a midi board actually, however I was saving that for my voodoo 2 box. I kinda want to go balls deep and get an Audigy2 ZS platinum. I actually had one new and used it FOREVER until the x-fi series. The card died one day when I plugged in headphones (dont ask me how) but I LOVED that card.
TLDR version:
#1:
I need 2 good socket 462 heatsinks, I'd prefer namebrand and ones that mount on the motherboard. MSG me if you have a PAIR for sale. Or if you want to buy the 3 thermalright ones I have.
#2:
Should I use a mx300, audigy 1 or audigy 2 for sound?
It is a mistake to think you can solve any major problems just with potatoes.