Building the new rig: Bakemono!

Update, October 2008: I again made a few changes. I put an nVidia 280GTX Overclocked video card (MSI brand) into Bakemono mk II and put the 8800GTX into Patrisha's machine. I also put a BluRay read/write drive into that machine and moved it into the media room. It makes for great BluRay movie watching along with other video content, and also is a fun gaming platform - imagine Rappelz or Age of Conan on a 110" screen at 1920x1080 resolution! Very cool.

I also got a Logitech MX5500 bluetooth keyboard and mouse for the media room PC. They really work well, better than I expected!

Update, May 2008: This month I made a few changes to the machine. Actually I sort of built a new machine, but leveraged some of the parts from the original Bakemono to make a Bakemono mk. II. Essentially I needed to get Patrisha an updated machine, so I got a new motherboard, processor, processor fan, RAM, power supply, and case. I took the video card, hard drives, DVD burner, and monitor from the original machine to create the new one. I then took the two BFG 6800GTX OC cards plus the two 120GB SATA-2 drives from my build prior to the original Bakemono and put them in the original Bakemono case along with the mobo, proc, RAM, PS, etc. that were already there. So Patrisha now has a new machine and I have Bakemono mk. II.

The new parts are:

• Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
• MSI P35 Neo2-FR LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard
• Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor (G0 Stepping)
• G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Memory Update, March 2009: Added two more for a total of 8GB
• ZALMAN 9500A 92mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler
• CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply

I have the 8800GTX overclocked about 10%, and the CPU/FSB/Memory overclocked 25% (CPU is running at 3.0GHz rather than the stock 2.4GHz). This makes for some great performance, yet it still runs nice and cool. The Antec case has more fans and is a tad louder, but has great cooling. I could give or take all the blue LED's in the fans, but I don't really see them much where I have the machine in my desk.

I'll try to get some photos of the new parts up later, but to get the internals will take a bit of effort as the machine is in my big computer desk and is a real pain to get out and opened up.
End updates

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Here it is, early in 2007 and I'm embarking on building a new PC. I intend to chronicle my progress step by step (more or less) as I go through the process. This will be the fifth PC I've built from the ground up, and I have a long history of upgrading and repairing other PC's, so I'm not exactly novice. However there can be gotcha's no matter how experienced you are, so I'm hoping this build is uneventful.

I usually end up with names for my machines, this one will be no different. I am planning to call this one "Bakemono" (Japanese for monster, more or less). In Kanji, this is 化け物。At least I think I got it right. Anyway, here's a list of parts:

• Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 at 2.4GHz (least expensive processor with 4MB L2 Cache). This will be easy to seriously overclock.
• Zalman CNPS9500 Heatsink/Fan. This will help keep the proc cool for overclocking, alot better than the stock heatsink.
• EVGA/nVidia nForce 680i SLI motherboard. This should work great even with just one graphics adapter initially. The chipset should perform exceptionally well.
• 2GB (2x1) of Patriot low-latency DDR2-800 memory. Should OC ok and will be able to go to 4GB later if I want. update: I'm at 4GB now, upgraded in May, 07
• XFX GeForce 8800 GTX PCIx16 video adapter with 768MB GDDR3 memory. A screamer and DirectX 10 capable. Just one to start with though
• 150GB WD Raptor (10,000rpm) SATA drive. For the OS, really fast drive
• 320GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10. SATA 3.0GB drive with the Perpendicular Recording technology. Slower, for data and such. Still a really good drive.
• Silverstone ST75F 750W power supply. This has really clean, efficient (and LOTS) of power. Also 4 PCIx 6 pin power connectors and a modular cable system. Can handle two of the 8800's and still keep the cable runs clean.
• Enermax ECA3092 ATX Mid-tower case. This thing has a huge (25cm) direction-reversible fan and is aluminum. With the big fan, it should be really quiet. I'll probably add a 12cm fan to the back also to increase airflow, OCing the components will make them a bit hotter.
• Dell 2407 Wide format flat panel monitor. This thing should look really great and perform well. I can finally repurpose another monstrous tube monitor and clear off some more desk space!

Monitor Setup

First off, I'm setting up the monitor on the desk. This monitor is really nice, wide format 24" and native resolution is 1920x1200. It has lots of nice features like tilt and swivel, height adjustment, and 4 USB 2.0 ports and a multiformat card reader. All I had to do was unpack it, attach the stand, and hook up the power, DVI, and USB cables.

 

Freshly Unpacked

Nice connectors! Note the integrated USB and Card Readers.

Case Preparation

So far so good - the easy part is over. Now the case prep is next. All I needed to do is unpack it, get the parts ready and open up the side panel.

That's a big fan!

Not bad looking

Oops, can't forget the IO Shield that comes with the motherboard. Now we're ready for the parts to go in!

Here's the parts fresh from NewEgg.com! Next is the motherboard...

Motherboard

Here's the evga nVidia 680i motherboard freshly unpacked:

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

First thing is to get the CPU in. This requires unpacking the CPU, getting the cooling solution ready, opening the CPU Socket and removing the packing spacer, installing and locking down the CPU, then installing the cooler. Here we go:

The CPU Socket ready to go. Neat...no pins! Yay for Socket 775.

Here's the CPU next to the stock cooler (l) and the one I'm using (r)

CPU's in and locked down. Now for the cooler...

Here's the cooler mounting ring from the top...

...and from the bottom. Screws go right through holes in the motherboard.

I'm a fan of Arctic Silver 5 (top) for thermal grease.  Beats the stuff that comes with coolers and CPUs

A thin layer of Arctic Silver 5 to make a good conducting seal with the cooler unit...this is critical!

and on goes the cooler. Lots of copper!

Here's the cooler from the back. Notice the 3 big figure 8 heatpipes...that will move a lot of heat energy!

Memory

I'm using DDR2 800 low latency memory. This should allow for some nice overclocking headroom. I'm installing it into the motherboard before mounting it in the case...it's easier.

Here it is...2GB total. Let's put it in.

Looking good so far. Let's get the motherboard in the case now.

Case Assembly

First thing is to get the motherboard stand-offs into the right holes in the case. Next, mount the motherboard into the case with the screws into the stand-offs. Then install the power supply and start running cables.

This is the right setup for the eVGA motherboard, ATX form factor

In it goes.

Power supply is in, let's start hooking up cables!

Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)

The GPU is the heart and soul of any PC that will be used primarily for gaming. The nVidia 8800GTX series units are the state of the art at this time. This motherboard can actually handle two of them running in parallel, but I'm starting with one (they're kind of expensive!). I may add another later. The card actually takes two slots and requires two additional 12v power feeds besides the power provided on the PCI Express bus.

Here's the beast in all its glory!

 Complete Case Assembly

It's time to finish up the case. Here we mount the hard drives, the GPU, the audio card (I'm using the Montego DDL card I already had rather than the onboard RealTek AC97 audio), and run the rest of the cables.

Components in, wiring done, and cables tied off. Ready to close it up!

Wrapping it all up

The final steps are to do some testing, then close up the case, hook up the peripherals, power cord, network, etc. and start loading and configuring the operating system. The build is complete and I'm happy with the results so far. This machine is really fast. I will post some benchmark numbers later. Here's some final photos:

PC Complete!