Nov 05 2008
3 Comments
Computing & Technology

The pain and joy of a home built PC

With my anicent old Pentium refusing to play HD mkv files I finally had to splash some cash on some new parts to build a new PC. Sure I could have gone to Dell but they never have the balance of quality and price I demand.

  • Antec NSK2480 case with 380w PSU
  • Asus P5E-VM-HDMI motherboard
  • Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 “Energy Efficient SLACR 95W Edition” 2.40GHz
  • 4GB Corsair DDR2 (2x2gb)
  • Western Digital – Green Power 1TB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm
  • Arctic Cooling AC-FRZ-7P Freezer 7 Pro
  • Sony NEC Optiarc AD-7200A 20x DVD±RW IDE Dual Layer ReWriter (Silver)

Yes a bit of greeness there, my PC is on 24/7 seeding and downloading so I picked a few parts that would try to limit the impact on my electricity bill.  The PSU is 80 plus certified for efficiency and also whisper quiet.  Seriously you can hear my fridge & freezer from across the room more than this PC, UNLESS you do something using the DVD drive which unfortunately is the noisest thing I have ever heard and I used to live under the Heathrow flight path.  Of course there is a reason why I chose this and it is spectacularly weak, it was the cheapest drive that matched the case colour, and match it it does. As long as it’s not in use it looks cool as it fits in with the silver front of the case perfectly.

On the subject of fitting. The Freezer 7 Pro does NOT fit into the NSK2480, it’s close and I’m sure if I file away a couple of needless long welds on top of the fan it will fit but let this be a lesson to all would be builders.  Check the fan height and case height.  The fact I still can’t hear my PC with the case open is testament to how supremely quiet this PC is though.  It also has a wonderfully uncluttered layout and is so neat and tidy, with separate compartments for the hd rack, PSU & optical drives and then the main area. Cables are tidy and the entire thing is easy to use.

While the fan is ongoing issue, it is easy enough to fix, either leave the case loosely open or file the bit off the fan or dremel a hole in the case andhave the fan sticking out like a super charger.  At the end of the day I couldn’t be happier with the performance and for £430 I have a monster that can easily be overclocked when it eventually starts to struggle in 5-6 years time.

  • http://www.wire-shelving.org Kyle Bailey

    The first time that i tried overcloking over a year ago, my CPU got overheated and got fried..-”

  • Dave

    Thanks for posting about the Freezer 7 Pro not fitting into the NSK2480. I’ve been trying to find out this info for a while. I’m considering a Scythe Shuriken now.

    • sideswipe

      I read a lot of good things about the Shuriken when I was building mine, certainly at the time it was the best low profile cooler but I gambled and went for the higher cooling power of the Freezer 7 Pro, which I have to say has done a magnificent job of keeping my PC cool during some hot days and still being on 24/7. The case lid not clamping down at the back hasn’t been a problem for me as there is a shelf above it that does a pretty good job hiding it. The PC is still as silent and fast as the day I built it and I really don’t regret my choices (except that noisy DVD drive)