PC purchased - did I make a mistake?

Associate
OP
Joined
21 Apr 2012
Posts
756
That all looks good to me!

It's understandable when you've the cash to buy some flashy new hardware, but it's definitely best to check in and have others give suggestions, no matter how competent you are it's easy to miss things at times.

Just one more thing while we're at it and before I call.

I was thinking of getting a 2TB HDD just in case I ever need the space. Seems unlikely with basically 2TB worth of SSD (I've never filled that on current PC!) but for the price I might as well just get it all done at once.

Any recommendations?
 
Soldato
Joined
22 Nov 2018
Posts
2,710
Just one more thing while we're at it and before I call.

I was thinking of getting a 2TB HDD just in case I ever need the space. Seems unlikely with basically 2TB worth of SSD (I've never filled that on current PC!) but for the price I might as well just get it all done at once.

Any recommendations?

So you're happy to have the noise of a HDD fire up everytime you switch on your computer? Whirring away in the background, causing wear and tear, month after month, when you may not even need it? If you insist on buying it now, at least keep it boxed up and sealed to retain some resale value.

My recomendation would be a NAS drive. Then it can be accessed by other devices in your house and it will sleep when not it use.
 
Associate
OP
Joined
21 Apr 2012
Posts
756
So you're happy to have the noise of a HDD fire up everytime you switch on your computer? Whirring away in the background, causing wear and tear, month after month, when you may not even need it? If you insist on buying it now, at least keep it boxed up and sealed to retain some resale value.

My recomendation would be a NAS drive. Then it can be accessed by other devices in your house and it will sleep when not it use.

Never thought of that actually. And while I'm streaming I'd like things as quiet as possible.

Maybe I'll make do with 2TB SSD or just see if j want to go 3TB.
 
Soldato
Joined
14 Nov 2007
Posts
16,072
Location
In the Land of Grey and Pink
Which do you have? Looking for around a 2TB if I do get one

I have 2 Seagate 2TB Firecuda SSHD's, 1 Western Digital 2TB, 1 Toshiba 3TB and 2 Samsung 1 and 2TB.

Can't say which of them is the quietest because as I said, can't hear them over case fans (which aren't loud anyway).

Seagate bought out Samsung's HDD business so you can't buy those any more.

If I had to recommend one it would the Firecuda. More expensive because of the SSD but can't fault them.

The Toshiba is good as well, if that was near the price of the Firecuda, would recommend that as well.
 
Associate
OP
Joined
21 Apr 2012
Posts
756
I have 2 Seagate 2TB Firecuda SSHD's, 1 Western Digital 2TB, 1 Toshiba 3TB and 2 Samsung 1 and 2TB.

Can't say which of them is the quietest because as I said, can't hear them over case fans (which aren't loud anyway).

Seagate bought out Samsung's HDD business so you can't buy those any more.

If I had to recommend one it would the Firecuda. More expensive because of the SSD but can't fault them.

The Toshiba is good as well, if that was near the price of the Firecuda, would recommend that as well.

So something like this?

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/seag...ive-for-pc-and-ps4-st1000lx015-hd-373-se.html
 
Associate
OP
Joined
21 Apr 2012
Posts
756
Decided against the HDD for now - I don't think I'll massively need it for now.

Here's what I ended up with:

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £1,736.08 (includes shipping: £13.20)

I decided to just keep the Samsung SSD in the end. Appreciate I may not notice the speed difference but the 3900x only worked out about 75 extra once the savings from MOBO and RAM came off.

Now to wait for delivery!

Thanks for all the advice!
 
Last edited:
Associate
OP
Joined
21 Apr 2012
Posts
756
Finally got my shipping email today! Hopefully get it by Thursday.

Also ordered this to go with it - https://www.overclockers.co.uk/giga...ync-led-backlit-gaming-monitor-mo-004-gi.html

Have 2 x Dell P2419H to go with it either side as well. A 3 monitor setup has been a long time coming, as had a monitor I can put vertical for stream chat and general help to productivity

Looking forward to testing it all out now!
 
Soldato
Joined
9 Nov 2005
Posts
10,910
Location
manchester,uk
I know I am a bit late to the party, but I would have done something like this instead. Same performance, but a better case, psu and cooler for around £90 less. The Phanteks Enthoo Pro M Glass is also a similar looking case to the 450D for £94.99.


My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £1,645.18 (includes shipping: £12.30)




Yours is still a nice setup though.
 
Associate
Joined
23 Dec 2018
Posts
1,096
Just to add some thoughts as I have the same case.

If your're tuning it for silence an HDD will be noisy in that case, I replaced a 4tb HDD for games with a 2tb SSD for silence.

It has incredible air flow but only comes with 2 x140 and 1 x 120 Corsair AFs that are loud unless you use Argus fan monitor to set a quiet profile( even bios wants to run them at 50% minimum.) I have 2 extra ML140s and took out the AF 120 and added 2 x ML120s instead . You'd definitely benefit from adding 2 x 140s and an extra 120 fan.

Phanteks case is nice but is plastic compared to aliminium, not really comporable if you don't want a plastic case. The aluminium front grill is always very cold and helps cooling. Acrylic window also lighter and easier to move than glass
 
Soldato
Joined
9 Nov 2005
Posts
10,910
Location
manchester,uk
Phanteks case is nice but is plastic compared to aliminium, not really comporable if you don't want a plastic case. The aluminium front grill is always very cold and helps cooling. Acrylic window also lighter and easier to move than glass

The Phanteks is just a better all round case imo. You get a psu cover, fan hub, better cooler support for larger air coolers, cable management at the side panel is a bit better and Tempered glass which won't scratch as easy as Acrylic. The 200mm front fan should also push a nice amount of air through the chassis. You also get a cleaner looking build due to the drive cages being hidden.

Only reason I suggested the Phanteks was because it looks pretty similar. Personally I would have gone with a more recent case as both these (Corsair and Phanteks) are a good few years old.

At the end of the day case is personal preference, so as long as you are happy with it then that is all that matters.
 
Associate
Joined
23 Dec 2018
Posts
1,096
The Phanteks is just a better all round case imo. You get a psu cover, fan hub, better cooler support for larger air coolers, cable management at the side panel is a bit better and Tempered glass which won't scratch as easy as Acrylic. The 200mm front fan should also push a nice amount of air through the chassis. You also get a cleaner looking build due to the drive cages being hidden.

Only reason I suggested the Phanteks was because it looks pretty similar. Personally I would have gone with a more recent case as both these (Corsair and Phanteks) are a good few years old.

At the end of the day case is personal preference, so as long as you are happy with it then that is all that matters.


Better is purely subjective, that's just your single opinion and a late one at that as he'd already bought it, I'll personally take aluminium over plastic any day.

I looked at that plastic Phanteks in great detail as it is so similar before buying the 450D instead as I think it's better. Opinions.

But as you say it's all about what you need/want it for, I needed an mid size aluminium case with a 5.25 drive bay, and an acrylic window as I've seen tons of smashed tempered glass panels. The Corsair 450D is the only case that fits that bill that I could find.

You don't touch any window with anything sharp, so it stands to reason scratches are virtually irrelevant. Tempered glass can smash with temperature changes, people can wake up to tempered glass smashes without knowing how it happened.

I took the HD drive cages out of my 450D at the bottom for airflow to add another 120mm so you've always got that option too.

Age is also irrelevant in this case as I couldn't find a new case with a drive bay in aluminium with an acrylic window, I prefer the 450D to any new Corsair case.

Anyway, actually on topic, I think the OP could definitely use the extra fans with an 3900X. I don't think the single 120mm AF is enough for exhaust.

I'm using double the amount of fans in the same case with a less hot running CPU.
 
Associate
OP
Joined
21 Apr 2012
Posts
756
I know I am a bit late to the party, but I would have done something like this instead. Same performance, but a better case, psu and cooler for around £90 less. The Phanteks Enthoo Pro M Glass is also a similar looking case to the 450D for £94.99.


My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £1,645.18 (includes shipping: £12.30)




Yours is still a nice setup though.

Too late now, it arrives Thursday and has been dispatched! :)
 
Associate
OP
Joined
21 Apr 2012
Posts
756
Anyway, actually on topic, I think the OP could definitely use the extra fans with an 3900X. I don't think the single 120mm AF is enough for exhaust.

I'm using double the amount of fans in the same case with a less hot running CPU.

Hmmmm

Lets hope it's not a huge issue - as I said above it's been dispatched already! Perhaps I should have asked a few more case questions back when I was building!

Is this likely to be a major issue?
 
Associate
Joined
23 Dec 2018
Posts
1,096
Hmmmm

Lets hope it's not a huge issue - as I said above it's been dispatched already! Perhaps I should have asked a few more case questions back when I was building!

Is this likely to be a major issue?

I don't think it's a huge issue if you don't mind extra noise and higher temps, but those AFs are really quite loud above about 50% or so. A single AF120 is likely going to have to go at some speed to expel all the hot air. As I've got the extra MLs making up for it I don't run my AFs above 50% even when max load when gaming and keep them 30% at idle for near silence. AF are also just 3 pin DC fans, a lot less control than PWM MLs or similar even in bios hence me having to use Argus fan monitor to tune them for silence.

You've got vents at the top which air can escape from even without fans, but they also have plenty of space above the motherboard and mounts for up to 2 x 140MM fans or 3 X 120MM. I moved the included 140mm AFs to the top as extra exhausts and put 2 X ML 140s at the front instead, though those AFs are still decent at the front as intakes.

I'm genuinely surprised that the OCUK builders didn't try sell you at least an extra 140MM as even all Corsair's spec blurb for the case uses extra ML140s to demonstrate the optimum air flow. I think you would definitely benefit from even just one extra 140MM for exhaust at the far back top part of the case, especially as it'll be pretty much above that CPU cooler.

The good news is adding a fan to the top is very easy, even with a completed build. You can screw the fans in from the top of the case for exhaust, and can definitely neatly cable manage a single fan cable without taking the back side off.

You could add another 140MM like I did at the top front as well but it will be less effective as it's at the front and partially blocked by the 5.25 bay, though still expels a fair quantity of warmish air under load. Removing the HD drive cage is also a very easy upgrade as an option and massively improves air flow with or without putting an extra 120MM intake there.

Anyway, that's just my opinion for a virtually silent config at idle for work and quiet at gaming load rig. You can still get great performance with less fans, just noisier and hotter. Not saying my config is the best or optimum, just what works well for me with that case.
 
Associate
OP
Joined
21 Apr 2012
Posts
756
I'm genuinely surprised that the OCUK builders didn't try sell you at least an extra 140MM as even all Corsair's spec blurb for the case uses extra ML140s to demonstrate the optimum air flow. I think you would definitely benefit from even just one extra 140MM for exhaust at the far back top part of the case, especially as it'll be pretty much above that CPU cooler.

Bit frustrating then! I emailed someone asking if there was anything I needed to add/change and they said it was fine.

The good news is adding a fan to the top is very easy, even with a completed build. You can screw the fans in from the top of the case for exhaust, and can definitely neatly cable manage a single fan cable without taking the back side off.

I'll see how it is without any amendments. What's the best tool to check temps?

Otherwise I'll try and fit one - is there a particular one I need? Whole point of pre-build was to not have to do anything to it! lol[/QUOTE]
 
Soldato
Joined
25 Oct 2010
Posts
5,231
Otherwise I'll try and fit one - is there a particular one I need? Whole point of pre-build was to not have to do anything to it! lol

Hardware Monitor for general use, MSI Afterburner's OSD for in game.

I think you'll be fine to be honest, you'll find out soon enough regardless!

Be sure to let us know when it arrives, take some pictures etc!
 
Associate
OP
Joined
21 Apr 2012
Posts
756
Hardware Monitor for general use, MSI Afterburner's OSD for in game.

I think you'll be fine to be honest, you'll find out soon enough regardless!

Be sure to let us know when it arrives, take some pictures etc!

Will do mate - have 2 Dell monitors here and my K70 arrived today. Just need to decide on which 27" monitor to get and get that ordered.
 
Back
Top Bottom