Haswell & Crossfire spec - anything obviously wrong?

[MG42Maniac]

Hi Guys,

Looking to upgrade to the following specs:

i7 4770k
Gigabyte Z87X-D3H
G.Skill 8GB (2x 4GB) Ares Series Memory Kit (DDR3 1866, 9-10-9-28)
Thermalright Silver Arrow SB-E
2 x HIS HD 7950 IceQ BOOST
Fractal Design Define R4
Corsair SP120 Quiet Edition 120mm Low Noise High Pressure Fan Dual Pack

I'm reusing the following:
Samsung 1TD HDD
OCZ SSD
Pioneer Blu-Ray Drive
Asus Xonar D2X
XFX Pro 850W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze

My main use will be gaming at 1080p (BF4 will be next game I play) and I don't want to do a major upgrade for a good few years.

Main reason for going for an i7 over the i5 is the small price premium and the fact I'm going crossfire. I'm looking to get 4.5GHz out of the i7 though I know this will mainly be down to the silicon lottery.

I've picked the HIS cards as they dump heat out of the case so are ideal for Crossfire. They will have a mild OC on them. Only concern is the spacing as the HIS cards are wide. I was planning to have the Xonar in the top PCI-E x1 slot and the 7950's below it exhausting out of the case. The mobo looks to have good spacing for Crossfire. Cards should fit and they should be cool but it's my main worry.

I'm downsizing from a HAF 932 as I want a plainer looking case, only other case I like the look of was the 300R.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to improve this? It's all compatible and should fit nicely into the case. Budget is around £950.

Cheers!

 

[Doomedspeed]

Im only going to comment on the cooler.

There are 3 versions of the Silver Arrow SB-E

SB-E
SB-E Extreme
SB-E SE (Super Extreme?)

The Extreme and the 'Super Extreme' seem to be the same, just different colours, where the SB-E (non-Extreme) different fans. It also pushes 170mm which is the max height for you case, where as the 'extremes' are 165mm.

 

[Ryan-3]

I do like my Fractal R2, with the R4 fixing most of my criticisms.

The only other case that takes my fancy at the moment is the Corsair 550D, but I'd stick to the R4. The R2 I have has taken some wear and tear, as well as some hefty knocks, but it looks almost new. Only the paint around the screws on the left panel would say that it wasn't out of the box.

The case can take upto 165mm max for cooler height mind, so you might want to change it for something like a Megahalems?

 

[MG42Maniac]

Im only going to comment on the cooler.

There are 3 versions of the Silver Arrow SB-E

SB-E
SB-E Extreme
SB-E SE (Super Extreme?)

The Extreme and the 'Super Extreme' seem to be the same, just different colours, where the SB-E (non-Extreme) different fans. It also pushes 170mm which is the max height for you case, where as the 'extremes' are 165mm.

Thanks, I'm aware that the Silver Arrows are huge as I'm coming from an Archon. I was planning to get the SE-E Extreme I'm planning to insert a 140mm side fan but I think it's offset so should not interfere with the cpu cooler.

I do like my Fractal R2, with the R4 fixing most of my criticisms.

The only other case that takes my fancy at the moment is the Corsair 550D, but I'd stick to the R4. The R2 I have has taken some wear and tear, as well as some hefty knocks, but it looks almost new. Only the paint around the screws on the left panel would say that it wasn't out of the box.

The case can take upto 165mm max for cooler height mind, so you might want to change it for something like a Megahalems?

What's the noise and heat like from the R2? I like the look of the R2 XL but I don't need something so large.

Like Doomedspeed pointed out the Silver Arrow will fit as long as I get the Extreme version. I'm not 100% sold on the Silver Arrow I just know how good my Archon was so have faith the Silver Arrow will kick ass. Reviews seem to rate it as one of the best air coolers.

 

[Ryan-3]

It is slightly offset, but I would think you'd be okay.

I use an H50, so I cannot say for sure, but it does look like you should be okay, but don't try one of those with the round fan casing, just to be sure


___


re: The heat seems fine, I use the quiet Fractal fans for the front and top, four 120mm fans, and they run silently, while a Corsair 120mm makes a bit noise at the bottom. I have an Apache on the H50.

The i7 gets upto 70c (especially summer, but it's generally less, especially in the winter), with the GTX560Ti at 60-65 at most. The GPU is slightly overclocked, and the CPU is usually stock, but I get the fan turned up when overclocked - producing the same temperatures. These are from benchmarking, so gaming temperatures are less.

BUT, I have my biggest problem, as I cannot remove a stupid big hard drive section, where the R4 can seperate the top and bottom. This will help with the temp's.

 

[MG42Maniac]

It is slightly offset, but I would think you'd be okay.

I use an H50, so I cannot say for sure, but it does look like you should be okay, but don't try one of those with the round fan casing, just to be sure


___


re: The heat seems fine, I use the quiet Fractal fans for the front and top, four 120mm fans, and they run silently, while a Corsair 120mm makes a bit noise at the bottom. I have an Apache on the H50.

The i7 gets upto 70c (especially summer, but it's generally less, especially in the winter), with the GTX560Ti at 60-65 at most. The GPU is slightly overclocked, and the CPU is usually stock, but I get the fan turned up when overclocked - producing the same temperatures. These are from benchmarking, so gaming temperatures are less.

BUT, I have my biggest problem, as I cannot remove a stupid big hard drive section, where the R4 can seperate the top and bottom. This will help with the temp's.

I think the R4 addresses some of the problems you're having with the R2. As you said, this should help air flow thus reduce temps.

Temps look decent though, always worried how much heat the sound dampening keeps in but I don't think it will be an issue.

I was looking to move the Corsair Sp120s to the front and then then move the supplied front fan to the side.

 

[Ryan-3]

I'd put the SP120's at the front, as they seem to move a good amount of air with little noise. Then see whether the fan fits at the side - I think it should, had a quick look and measure before - aiding the cooling further. Even if it doesn't fit, you could just remove the cover for it.

The noise dampening has criticism about the smell, but I found nothing wrong with the smell. It doesn't seem to hold much heat in though, as long as the airflow is set up correctly.

 

[MG42Maniac]

All the components ordered. Sadly the SB-E Extreme was out of stock with too long an ETA so had to get the K2 Mount Doom instead. The HIS 7950 are delaying the order but all the components should hopefully be here by Thursday