New Build Advice

[IanB001]

That's certainly an option worth considering Biz.Kid. I suppose pre overclocked kit would take the hard work out of it, but also the fun I guess. That case is a little understated don't you think? I like the removable motherboard tray, my current case has that. No fan controllers though, it could be a bit noisy. I like the large hole in the motherboard tray to fit water cooling apparatus.

£300.00 is a lot of money Fel for a motherboard, but I consider this an opportunity so why not. It may at last encourage me to overclock. At least a little. (I'm secretly looking at overclocking guides now)
I've heard that the stock cooler is quite good up to 4Ghz. That Noctua is a monster of a cooler. I did consider the Corsair H50-1, maybe later, I dunno.

Step 1 : get a descent platform on which to build.

It's all food for thought.

 

[Fel]

The advantage of the overclocked package is that it comes with Warranty.

If you are decided on the CPU and MOBO then I won't try and dissuade you;
but if you do buy these high-end components it would be a shame not to overclock them.

I read review about the stock cooler not being too bad, at least you could try some overclocking and see what the temps look like.

PSU looks up for the job unless you intend to slap another 5970 in there.

 

[admoo]

Looking like a good, well thought out build so far. I reckon as you have the money, and want to spend it, you've put it in the right places. The 256GB SSD is mahoosive, but I reckon it's almost a requirement with such a big budget

I'd also probably not risk a £700 with the stock cooler, even if it is the new improved design. I'd recommend a Megahalems (as I have one) or another huge air cooled one. Thermalright TRUE are also supposed to be pretty awesome at air cooling . I know a lot of people rate the H50-1, though I'm a little dubious as my housemate has one and is struggling to keep the temps down.

Apart from that, I think you're set - I hope you enjoy it

P.S: If you happen to be related to any students, there's a certain Microsoft partner which offers Win 7 Ultimate for about £60, which is valid for students, staff, and family members (afaik).

Edit: I'd definitely go for a modular PSU. THe HX850 is the Corsair equivalent, and is meant to be excellent.

 

[HW91]

should go for the new corsair gold PSU's, better efficiency

for an SSD I'd get the 180GB vertex 2E

for graphics if you get the ROG board then get a couple of 470 AMP!'s or if you don't, get a couple of KFA2 460's, they should perform better than the 5970

 

[Grimley]

This would be my choice.

Your basket
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
HIS ATI Radeon HD 5970 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card + Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 HIS ATI Radeon HD 5970 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card + Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 £443.99
(£377.86) £443.99
(£377.86)
OCZ Vertex 2E 120GB 2.5" SATA-II Solid State Hard Drive (OCZSSD2-2VTXE120G) OCZ Vertex 2E 120GB 2.5" SATA-II Solid State Hard Drive (OCZSSD2-2VTXE120G) £289.99
(£246.80) £289.99
(£246.80)
Corsair Dominator GT 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 16000C8 (2000MHz) Tri-Channel Kit (CMT6GX3M3A2000C8) Corsair Dominator GT 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 16000C8 (2000MHz) Tri-Channel Kit (CMT6GX3M3A2000C8) £224.99
(£191.48) £224.99
(£191.48)
Intel Core i7 930 2.80GHz (Bloomfield) (Socket LGA1366) - Retail Intel Core i7 930 2.80GHz (Bloomfield) (Socket LGA1366) - Retail £217.36
(£184.99) £217.36
(£184.99)
Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate - Retail (Full Version) Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate - Retail (Full Version) £167.99
(£142.97) £167.99
(£142.97)
Corsair HX 850W ATX Modular SLI Compliant Power Supply (CMPSU-850HXUK) Corsair HX 850W ATX Modular SLI Compliant Power Supply (CMPSU-850HXUK) £154.99
(£131.91) £154.99
(£131.91)
Asus P6X58D-E Intel X58 (Socket 1366) DDR3 Motherboard Asus P6X58D-E Intel X58 (Socket 1366) DDR3 Motherboard £149.99
(£127.65) £149.99
(£127.65)
Antec Dark Fleet Series DF85 Gaming Enclosure - Black Antec Dark Fleet Series DF85 Gaming Enclosure - Black £139.99
(£119.14) £139.99
(£119.14)
Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (WD1002FAEX) Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (WD1002FAEX) £69.99
(£59.57) £69.99
(£59.57)
Prolimatech Megahalems Rev B CPU Cooler (Socket 775/1156/1366) Prolimatech Megahalems Rev B CPU Cooler (Socket 775/1156/1366) £42.99
(£36.59) £42.99
(£36.59)
Akasa AK-FN058 Apache Black Super Silent 120mm Fan - 4 Pin PWM Akasa AK-FN058 Apache Black Super Silent 120mm Fan - 4 Pin PWM £13.99
(£11.91) £27.98
(£23.82)
Sub Total : £1,642.78
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £12.50
VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £289.67
Total : £1,944.95

I went for the 930 over the 970 as I don't think 2 extra cores justifies the extra 400 or so notes. Same goes for the motherboard if you're not overclocking.
OCZ Vertex is more than enough for Windows 7 & a few programmes. Use the WD (I now prefer these over the Samsung F3) for your games & video editing.

I've got the Corsair HX650 & the meghalem cooler, so I can vouch for their excellence.

The HIS is on TWO offer.

I went for the dark fleet 'cos the world & his dog has got the 900/1200, I assume you wanted to be among the 1st on here to get one!

 

[honosuseri]

Any chance you could post a new screenshot Ian so we can see the changes you have made to the original spec sheet?

 

[Freddie1980]

If your not overclocking then why the hell are you getting a £300 motherboard?!? And don't give this vague crap about 'It's foundation of an excellent system', it's just an excellent way of wasting your hard earned money. All of the X58 range are geared towards enthusiasts and all offer triple channel memory, full X16 PCI-E lanes and support for the latest 32nm CPU's. The rams a joke as well at £205, again your not overclocking so why are you getting overclockers ram? Because it looks great?

If your doing lots of video work then you will need a lot of hard drive space, I suggest getting a smaller SSD say 128Gb for your OS and some games and get 2 of Spinpoint F3's and putting them in a RAID 1 configuration (and maybe look at getting 1.5tb or 2Gb drives instead).

The HIS HD5970 is about £80 cheaper but comes with a 2 year warranty rather then a 3 year warranty.

For some serious savings though you really ought to look at overclocking, getting a 920 or 930 to 970 speeds should be very, very easy and you could save hundreds.

I'm sorry if you think I'm being a hard ass but I'm telling you this for your own good.

 

[IanB001]

Taking into account all the advice I've been offered, my basket looks like this:

I'm gonna hold onto some components I'm really keen on, but I've reeled some other components in. Sorry, but the Asus Rampage and Crucial SSD stays

With those exceptions I think the system is reasonably balanced, yeah? CPU, GPU and RAM wise.

Would that PSU be powerful enough for some (newbie) overclocking and Crossfire another 5970? If I require more what about the Antec TruePower Quattro 1000W mentioned earlier as the 1200w version of the Corsair is out of stock.

I'm considering the Megahalems cooler, but I'm not sure if I'll have the space.

Freddie, lighten up mate, lol. You sound like mum, God rest her soul.

I think I'm pretty much there now, and I can even slip the mrs a few quid Oh forget it, I'll put it towards another 5970.

Thank you everybody.

 

[stulid]

three things bug me.

ultimate win7? just get home edition.

the £300 motherboard, the gigabyte UD3 or Asus P6X58D-E are half the price

and the 960 cpu, just buy a 930 for half price.

I like the case tho, its huge inside.

 

[Biz.Kid09]

Ok take out the WD Caviar Green and replace with either 2 WD Caviar Black if you can.....Take out the i7 970 as its just not necessary get a i7 930 and that Asus motherboard will get it 4ghz+ and with the savings from a i7 970 to 930 get a Corsair H50-1...
The 850w i would say could run two 5970 but i would go for more watts to give some headroom...something like the HX1000 or AX1000.
Win 7 Ultimate really necessary? Do you actually need the features Ultimate has over HP etc?

 

[honosuseri]

Well if you've got stulids overall thumbs up you have done well....that guy specs some good rigs.

Like I said I have ultimate, do i notice much difference over home premium.....no. Other than the internet tv addon which the mrs likes flicking thru.

I can understand why you went for the rampage, it has so many bells and whistles. If your anything like me you enjoying spending forever and a day playing around with things. I also respect your stubborness to stick with it ;p

Since you are dead set on the rampage, why not do a lil research and see what results people have achieved with different CPUs. Not all CPUs of the same spec are made equal but it will give you an idea what you can achieve.

If you can save a few £s on the cpu then you can finance a lil shopping spree for the mrs. to keep her busy (read as happy!) whilst all this top gear is being put together

 

[IanB001]

Hiya

My concern is that if I go with the i7 930 and I'm unable to overclock due to my noobness or shear incompetence I would be restricting myself.

How about the i7 960 with the Asus P6X58D-E? Assuming this motherboard has similar overclocking potential as the Rampage. Would I need to change my RAM selection or would it still be ok?

I've changed the following:

• Win 7HP Retail
• 2 x WD Cavier Black (I thought I was gonna save the planet with the 'green')
• Corsair HX 1000W (The AX1000 isn't in stock)
• corsair H50-1

How about that?

 

[stulid]

Hiya

My concern is that if I go with the i7 930 and I'm unable to overclock due to my noobness or shear incompetence I would be restricting myself.

How about the i7 960 with the Asus P6X58D-E? Assuming this motherboard has similar overclocking potential as the Rampage. Would I need to change my RAM selection or would it still be ok?

I've changed the following:

• Win 7HP Retail
• 2 x WD Cavier Black (I thought I was gonna save the planet with the 'green')
• Corsair HX 1000W (The AX1000 isn't in stock)
• corsair H50-1

How about that?

ok then, keep the 960cpu if your worried about overclocking, you thought about a pre-overclocked bundle?

Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Krypton Intel Core i7 930 2.80GHz @ 4.00GHz Overclocked Bundle £429.99
(£365.95) £429.99
(£365.95)
Options applied to the above product:
Corsair H50-1 High-Performance CPU Watercooler (Socket LGA775/1156/1366/AM2/AM3) £62.99
(£53.61) £62.99
(£53.61)
Options applied to the above product:
Asus P6X58D-E Intel X58 (Socket 1366) DDR3 Motherboard £149.99
(£127.65) £149.99
(£127.65)
Sub Total : £547.21
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £10.00
VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £97.51
Total : £654.72


and the other changes are all positive.

 

[whipitrnd]

man thats a lot. i think your paying to much. when for a grand you can have a good spec pc.

 

[stulid]

im bored so thought you would like to see a cheaper, faster pc.

Your basket
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Krypton Intel Core i7 930 2.80GHz @ 4.00GHz Overclocked Bundle £429.99
(£365.95) £429.99
(£365.95)
Options applied to the above product:
Corsair H50-1 High-Performance CPU Watercooler (Socket LGA775/1156/1366/AM2/AM3) £62.99
(£53.61) £62.99
(£53.61)
Options applied to the above product:
Asus P6X58D-E Intel X58 (Socket 1366) DDR3 Motherboard £149.99
(£127.65) £149.99
(£127.65)
Crucial RealSSD C300 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CTFDDAC128MAG-1G1) £252.61
(£214.99) £252.61
(£214.99)
ZOTAC GeForce GTX 470 1280MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £246.74
(£209.99) £493.48
(£419.98)
BeQuiet Dark Power Pro P8 1000W Modular Power Supply £180.99
(£154.03) £180.99
(£154.03)
Coolermaster ATCS 840 Classic Case - Black £146.98
(£125.09) £146.98
(£125.09)
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium - Retail (Full Version) £110.99
(£94.46) £110.99
(£94.46)
Samsung SH-B083L/RSBP 8x BluRay ROM / 16x DVD±RW Drive - Black (Retail) £51.69
(£43.99) £51.69
(£43.99)
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ) £48.49
(£41.27) £48.49
(£41.27)
Akasa Dual 2.5" SSD/HDD Mounting Kit £5.99
(£5.10) £5.99
(£5.10)
Sub Total : £1,646.12
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £16.85
VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £291.02
Total : £1,953.99

its already overclocked to 4ghz.

and two GTX470 beat a 5970- http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/geforce-gtx470-sli.html

keeps your woman happy too.

 

[honosuseri]

Ok I don't want to second guess stulid as doing so will make me look stupid ;p

I am under the impression that the H50 is a "hobbyist" watercooling solution and not particulary good for overclocking (anyone is welcome to jump in here and prove me wrong with their experiences). Most people who use it sandwich the radiator between the exhaust case fan (120mm) and the h50s supplied fan to keep the temps low.

I've really enjoyed following this thread........although it seems to prove money can't buy you happiness.......just headaches lol

 

[stulid]

a H50 will manage a i7 to about 4ghz, after that you should be looking at getting some huge metal tower cooler like a Noctua, Megahalem

plus OCUK wouldn't sell it with a 4ghz kit, they do their testing.

 

[Judgeneo]

instead of the £500 crucial I'd get these 2 SSDs

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-051-OC&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=1427 -- absolutely insane speeds and will be more than enough for essential apps and OS

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-006-CR&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=1427 -- same read speed as the £500 but slightly lower write, put your games and no essential apps on this.

All media and the like on the F3s, these are very fast drives by themselves.


Seriously, don't go for windows ultimate, even if you have the cash its not worth the extra.

After that It all seems gooooood