Compound I have is Arctic MX 2. Some reviews say it's as good as Arctic Silver 5 if not actually better. It's also non metalic, so no chance of any accidental shorts on the board. It also cost a lot less. When you say set up, do you mean what I intend to overclock to? I'm hoping to get it stable sitting at 4.5 on the i5 2500k. Anything more is pushing it with that cooler, especially in the summer. I'm hoping the brackets come tomorrow. Really is annoying looking at a brand new PC sitting in various boxes, while I'm currently stuck and working on a piece of shit. A reliable piece of shit, but a piece of shit all the same.
I meant cooling setup, if you decide to move on and away from air cooling. That MX2 is good, just make sure you don't put a ton on there. 2 methods I'd recommend for application is put a drop on, start with the cooler about a half-turn away from final seated position, place on chip, rotate and seat with screws, or apply a drop and spread with a razor blade. Either way is effective in my experience, just make sure you tighten it down evenly and don't over tighten it.
Oh, 8gb RAM (upping that to 16 when I need it for graphics and illustration apps like ZBrush, PS et al), a XFX 750w PSU, Samsung DVD RW (not sure which spec, but so long as it works), 500gb Caviar Black WD HDD, and a HD5870 XFX Black Edition, which I intend to Xfire with another one in the near future. The case is a CM Storm Scout, soon to be custom painted. Fairly nice set up. If I can get it set up that is.
You're gonna love that 5870, especially when you crossfire it. I'm running a 5850 OC'ed to 900/1200 and it's similar spec to a stock 5870. God knows that thing will fly with two OC'ed 5870's in it
![Cheesy :D](https://www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/Smileys/default/cheesy.gif)
That 750 XFX will be enough to power 2 of those 5870's as well, even after overclocking so that's good. Can't go wrong with Caviar Black in my opinion, the only reason I went with a Spinpoint F3 is because I found a 7200rpm 1tb for about $49. I would definitely recommend you keep an eye out for SSD deals as you do a lot of work with graphics and such. I can't overstate how pleased I am with how fast my graphical applications work with mine, or just applications and games in general.
Also, you'll dig that Storm Scout, but the side window causes the case to get extra dusty if you don't put filters in, even with no fans in at all. If you're not planning on having fans in there, I've got a spare solid plexi side window I can cut and put holes in. I don't need an extra so $15usd + shipping if I cut it and drill it, or $5usd + shipping for the uncut 16"x13"x1/8" sheet. If instead, you have access to plexi, make sure the piece is at least 36mm x 33mm and don't get a thickness over 1/8th of an inch or you'll have to get new rivets as opposed to using the plastic ones already in it... Another alternative, you can go through coolermaster and buy a spare solid panel like the one on the Motherboard side, they're completely interchangeable.
Pics of mine below in the same case as yours... Disregard the cable mess on the inside, I've got a false floor covering the PSU and cables are more tucked away now. I did a TON of cutting on mine though, lol