I think you need to replace the fluid from time to time - so you were to upgrade later you'd need to get a new cpu block (if using a different cpu socket type (or some can fit multiple types)) and if you were to get a new graphics card you'd need a new block for that.
I think the pump, reservoir, radiator, maybe the northbridge block and the fittings etc would be ok.
You'd also probably want to get a silent PSU too - I think that's one of the loudest fans in my pc although many these days only use as much fan speed as they need to keep it cool.
silly sam!
you can carry over your cpu block most of the time.. (I have an EK supreme that I just buy new mounting brackets for and clean for upgrades)
This block can mount on any current/past CPU (check
here)
its the NB/GPU blocks that need changing upon upgrades.. The RAD/RES/PUMP will usually be ok (the res is cheap, so I usually change them out regularly)
chances are that if you have a phenom x3 you can unlock a 4th core
AMD have been releasing quads as tris due to demand
but if you happen to get an actual tricore, youd be just as well off having a good dual as most multi threaded games cant run 3 threads (2/4/8)
although some can and have been modded to do so its quite a hassle..
AMD chips are cheap as hell compared to intel (although the price point is about right compared to performance) so why not just get a quad?
Also, watercooling isnt that great unless your gonna clock the balls off your stuff.. So I would stick to passive cooling
even if you do go water, youll still need fans for the rads and case.. especially if you want to cool the GPUs (which have the loudest fans in your case usually) with your water rig
Nah, threads don't work like that Chaos.
Apps don't (usually) have any preferences about which cores/processors their threads are run on, the scheduler in your OS does all that and assigns threads to the most available core. If you have a program creating 4 threads and a tricore chip it will just run 2 threads on one core and one each on the other two. If you have a dual core chip it'll run 2 on each (or three and one, depending on the individual thread workloads). How effective it is is down to how the workload is split up between the threads, but tricore is def better than dual.
you make a good point zarf, but for gaming, a tricore isnt any better than a dual.. mostly due to the code in the game, not the OS
but if your client wants to do other things (like CS4/music creation/video editing ect) than its a perfect budget choice...
Building a PC for a mate atm, was going to give phenom II a go(managed to get an awesome second hand deal on some Intel kit though)
Have to be honest, Phenom (1 or 2) just isn't worth it yet - the X3 doesn't really offer much extra over standard Core 2. Read the reviews if you don't believe me, but when I see so much evidence of the same thing I generally pay attention.
I'm not an Intel fanboy, I like AMD, just that there is no compelling reason to buy (unless you already have an AM2 or AM3 motherboard already)
I have heard of AMD releasing "undamaged" X4 chips as X3 ones, but overall they'd lose money doing this I think if they did it for any length of time. Normally a damaged X4 die will be turned into an X3 one if it passes testing with one of the cores disabled.
You can't choose which core runs a process - as Zarf said, the OS and lower level management takes care of that.
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