Im going to attempt my first build. Any advice welcome

General Zod · 9 Sep 2016 at 16:47

So i think its time to upgrade the antique Dell XPS 720 H2C

http://www.freshpilot.com/wp-content/images/dell_xps_720_h2c.jpg

** Do Not Hotlink images **

I think it was one of the first watercooled pc's on the market back in 2007.

The problem is that it has a BTX motherboard in it. BTX motherboards didn't take off and so no new motherboard will fit the case. So its a new pc build now. The 1000Watt power supply wont go on a new motherboard or the water cooler. So all i have is hard drives and my graphics card to put in a new rig.

As i'm old school and know hot to write a long program on a Commodore VIC 20 or Amiga and know MSDOS in dept, when it comes down to building a new pc....well i'm as knowledgeable as joey essex is.

Anyway, having spent not just days but weeks reading this forum. I've come up with the following.

What do you think? Is the case big enough? Is the power supply ok? Would you change anything? Any advice is very welcome

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-24000C15 3000MHz Dual Channel Kit - White (CMK16GX4M2B30= £89.99
1 x Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz (Skylake) Socket LGA1151 Processor - Retail= £319.99
1 x Samsung 250GB 750 EVO SSD 2.5" SATA 6Gbps Solid State Drive= £59.99
1 x Corsair Hydro Series H115i Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (CW-9060027-WW)= £124.99
1 x Super Flower Leadex GOLD 850W Fully Modular "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black= £128.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance C70 Midi Tower Gaming Case - GunMetal Black= £109.99
1 x Asus Z170 Pro Gaming Intel Z170 (Socket 1151) DDR4 ATX Motherboard= £137.99

Total: £986.63
(includes shipping: £14.70)

snips86x · 9 Sep 2016 at 16:52

Doesn't look too bad but I would suggest the following:

- Get a CPU/Mobo bundle as save £20 with the 6600k
- 8GB RAM or a cheaper set for 16gb (white doesn't match the mobo colour

)
- H115i, any reason you're not looking at the H100i or a decent air cooler?

General Zod · 9 Sep 2016 at 17:02

snips86x said:
Doesn't look too bad but I would suggest the following:

- Get a CPU/Mobo bundle as save £20 with the 6600k
I was just looking at that
- 8GB RAM or a cheaper set for 16gb (white doesn't match the mobo colour )
Are you saying i only need 8gb ram? Not bothered about the colour. Led lights and fancy watercooler things dont do anything for me. Im colour blind
- H115i, any reason you're not looking at the H100i or a decent air cooler?
I didnt realise H100i was better than H115i. youd think with a higher number it would be better. guess not.

Danny75 · 9 Sep 2016 at 17:20

If you like the overall look of the older Vengeance, I'd check out the new Cougar Panzer Max, as it's kind of similar and with more up-to-date features for a case of that value.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x Cougar Panzer Max Full Tower Gaming Case - Black= £114.95

Total: £126.65
(includes shipping: £11.70)

I'll be honest, haven't seen any reviews for this case yet, so do check some out first if it catches your eye too.

General Zod · 9 Sep 2016 at 19:15

Danny75 said:
If you like the overall look of the older Vengeance, I'd check out the new Cougar Panzer Max, as it's kind of similar and with more up-to-date features for a case of that value.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x Cougar Panzer Max Full Tower Gaming Case - Black= £114.95

Total: £126.65
(includes shipping: £11.70)

I'll be honest, haven't seen any reviews for this case yet, so do check some out first if it catches your eye too.

Wow. That case is awesome. Its just right up my road. I love the military look of it like the corsair C70, but its also full size. I love the carbon on it aswell. Thats the case i will now go for. Cheers Danny.

mickyflinn · 9 Sep 2016 at 19:29

What gpu,s will you be using ? and are they adequite for what you do.

lee32uk · 9 Sep 2016 at 20:04

General Zod said:
Wow. That case is awesome. Its just right up my road. I love the military look of it like the corsair C70, but its also full size. I love the carbon on it aswell. Thats the case i will now go for. Cheers Danny.

Review here:

http://www.eteknix.com/cougar-panzer-max-full-tower-chassis-review/

General Zod · 10 Sep 2016 at 06:41

mickyflinn said:
What gpu,s will you be using ? and are they adequite for what you do.

I have a GTX 660 OC II whatever that means.

I mostly use adobe and photo stuff. However from time to time i played flight sims and battlefield 3.

When BF4 came out and BF hardline my pc waved a white flag.

My intention is to build the basics above first and then once all is fine do the graphics card.

I have windows 7 pro 64 but still need to know if upgrading to win 10 is worth it. When i got the free upgrade to win 10 my pc turned into an illegal immigrant in calais wondering what the hell to do.

General Zod · 10 Sep 2016 at 06:42

lee32uk said:
Review here:

http://www.eteknix.com/cougar-panzer-max-full-tower-chassis-review/

Topman. I was reading some reviews on it but none as good as that one.

mickyflinn · 10 Sep 2016 at 11:47

You certainly dont need an 850w psu a 550w- 600 is easily good enough for the highest single card. The 750w leadex is the same price as the 650w.

b]My basket at Overclockers UK:[/b]

1 x Super Flower Leadex GOLD 750W Fully Modular "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black= £96.95
1 x Super Flower Leadex GOLD 550W Fully Modular '80 Plus Gold' Power Supply - Black= £79.99
1 x Fractal Design Newton 600W 80 Plus Platinum Modular Power Supply= £82.99
1 x EVGA Supernova G2 650W '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply= £93.95

Total: £366.48
(includes shipping: £12.60)

Quartz · 10 Sep 2016 at 14:08

General Zod said:
I have a GTX 660 OC II whatever that means

Then you are going to be disappointed with the lack of increased performance in games.

Quartz · 10 Sep 2016 at 15:59

With a RX 480:

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x be quiet! Shadow Rock LP Low Profile CPU Cooler - 120mm= £34.99
1 x Asus H110I Plus Intel H110 (Socket 1151) DDR4 ITX Motherboard= £64.99
1 x Cougar QBX Kaze Mini-ITX Cube Case - Black= £39.95
1 x XFX TS 430W 80 Plus Bronze Power Supply - Black ** 5 YEAR WARRANTY OCUK EXCLUSIVE **= £33.95
1 x HIS Radeon RX 480 8192MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card= £229.99
1 x Kingston Fury Black 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-19200C15 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (HX424C15FB2K2/1= £59.99
1 x Intel Core i5-6500 3.20GHz (Skylake) Socket LGA1151 Processor - Retail= £188.99
1 x Samsung 1.0TB 850 EVO SSD 2.5" SATA 6Gbps 32 Layer 3D V-NAND Solid State Drive (MZ-75E1T0B/EU)= £299.99
1 x Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound (3.5g)= £5.99

Total: £958.83
(includes shipping: £0.00)

With a GTX 1070:

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x be quiet! Shadow Rock LP Low Profile CPU Cooler - 120mm= £34.99
1 x Asus H110I Plus Intel H110 (Socket 1151) DDR4 ITX Motherboard= £64.99
1 x Cougar QBX Kaze Mini-ITX Cube Case - Black= £39.95
1 x XFX TS 430W 80 Plus Bronze Power Supply - Black ** 5 YEAR WARRANTY OCUK EXCLUSIVE **= £33.95
1 x Kingston Fury Black 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-19200C15 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (HX424C15FB2K2/1= £59.99
1 x Intel Core i5-6500 3.20GHz (Skylake) Socket LGA1151 Processor - Retail= £188.99
1 x Samsung 1.0TB 850 EVO SSD 2.5" SATA 6Gbps 32 Layer 3D V-NAND Solid State Drive (MZ-75E1T0B/EU)= £299.99
1 x Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound (3.5g)= £5.99
1 x Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1070 ITX Edition 8192MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (GV-N1070IXOC-8GD)= £399.95

Total: £1,128.79
(includes shipping: £0.00)

In both cases I've gone for a 1 TB SSD and foregone overclocking.

lee32uk · 10 Sep 2016 at 16:49

Quartz said:
Then you are going to be disappointed with the lack of increased performance in games.

He plans on changing it once the new system is up and running. See post #8.

Also you can't take away his Cougar Panzer case

lltfdaniel · 10 Sep 2016 at 18:33

The motherboard make sure you got the standoff screws in right place to screw the motherboard in.

General Zod · 11 Sep 2016 at 15:31

mickyflinn said:
You certainly dont need an 850w psu a 550w- 600 is easily good enough for the highest single card. The 750w leadex is the same price as the 650w.

b]My basket at Overclockers UK:[/b]

1 x Super Flower Leadex GOLD 750W Fully Modular "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black= £96.95

1 x Super Flower Leadex GOLD 550W Fully Modular '80 Plus Gold' Power Supply - Black= £79.99

1 x Fractal Design Newton 600W 80 Plus Platinum Modular Power Supply= £82.99

1 x EVGA Supernova G2 650W '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply= £93.95

Total: £366.48
(includes shipping: £12.60)

Ive just spent about 2 hours reading all reviews on power supplys after your post. lol. Also i was reading about what power i need. Anyway thanks for giving me some ideas. I finally have gone for a corsair 650 which is £50 cheaper than my previous one. Its also got very good reviews.

General Zod · 11 Sep 2016 at 15:40

lltfdaniel said:
The motherboard make sure you got the standoff screws in right place to screw the motherboard in.

Hopefully you get those with the case or the motherboard itself.

General Zod · 21 Dec 2016 at 16:22

Finally got round to ordering most of the gear for the new rig. Here it is below. Made a lot of changes after reading just about everything on this site. So a big thank you to everyone for your posts. Without them i would be stuck in no mans land.

Its going to be a sad day tomorrow when i finally turn off my old dell xps 720. She's been running strong for 13 years plus and never missed a beat. I've never owned anything as old as her

not even my annoying wife

Delta3D · 21 Dec 2016 at 16:33

Enjoy the build!

Nice choice of parts - love how Corsair uses the same style across everything.

Quartz · 21 Dec 2016 at 17:51

General Zod said:
Its going to be a sad day tomorrow when i finally turn off my old dell xps 720. She's been running strong for 13 years plus and never missed a beat.

Dell used to build them well. My mother's Dell Dimension L800r (Intel P3-800) is still working just fine. This Christmas I'm replacing it with an Intel NUC from OCUK.

General Zod · 21 Dec 2016 at 18:06

Delta3D said:
Enjoy the build! Nice choice of parts - love how Corsair uses the same style across everything.

I didnt notice. Now i do