Considering to buy...

Adam123

Adam123

Adam123

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11 Jan 2009
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I've had this in my basket for about 2 weeks now, it will cost £1602 exc vat... should I?

I'm due for a new PC, my current rig is on the blink so I have made myself a budget of £2000 to get a new one, make it a bit of a project, then sit back and enjoy it :-).

This will be used as a gaming pc (on an Acer 24" 1920x1200), as a htpc on a 32" Samsung with 5.1 surround sound and also as a home server type of thing so will be running most of the time. I know I don't need an i7 for gaming, I just want one.

I plan on removing the hdd cage from the R3 by drilling the rivets to allow the 580 to fit in as its 15mm too long, hiding an SSD behind an Aquaero 5 LT in the 2nd drive bay and a Scythe Himuro at the bottom of the case with a storage drive in. I have a Asus DX 7.1 in this tower that I will include in the new one.

I plan on changing the fans in the R3 to quieter ones that can move more air and by using the Aquaero I can change the system from being used as a silent htpc to a overclocked gaming pc cabable of running anything maxed out. The best of worlds.

I want a powerful system that will last me a while and is upgradable (pcie3, ivy bridge ready and have the option of throwing in another 580 if 'needed').

So after a week and a half of staying up until the early hours of the morning reading and watching countless reviews... I have come up with the following (all of the components are colour coded and I intend on paying a lot of attention to the cable management)...


YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI GTX 580 Lightning Xtreme Edition 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £499.99
1 x Intel Core i7-2600K 3.40GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £247.99
1 x MSI Z68A-GD80-G3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £199.99
1 x OCZ Vertex 3 120GB 2.5" SATA-3 Solid State Hard Drive (VTX3-25SAT3-120G) £194.99
1 x Corsair Professional Series AX850 High Performance 850W Modular '80 Plus Gold' Power Supply (CMPSU-850AXUK) £164.98
1 x Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (WD2002FAEX) £114.98
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-Bit - OEM (FQC-00765) £114.98
1 x G.Skill RipJawsX 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C7 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (F3-12800CL7D-8GBXH) £101.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H80 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366/LGA2011/AM2/AM3) £79.99
1 x LG BH10LS30 10x BluRay-RW / 16 x DVD±RW Drive - Black (Retail) £78.98
1 x Fractal Design Define R3 Midi Tower Case - Black Pearl £69.59
3 x Akasa AK-FN058 Apache Black Super Silent 120mm Fan - 4 Pin PWM £14.99 (£44.97)
1 x BitFenix Spectre 140mm Fan - Black £9.98
Total inc Vat : £1,926.36 (free shipping through forums).




I have another week or so until the funds are in place and then i get to press "Go to checkout". Hopefully I will be able to get the R3 usb 3.0 by then.

Sooooo I thought I'd run it by people who know more than me and get some opinions and maybe some suggestions on the above..?

So what would you change? Have I over looked anything?

The one thing that I am not overly sure on is whether or not I should replace the fans on the H80, I've read mixed reviews on the noise they make.

Thanks for reading,

Adam.
 
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You may as-well wait till next week and wait it out for the week offers. Probably bump the thread next week you will be able to get an accurate price, to be honest, you seriously don't need the i7, everything else looks good, do you need that Graphics Card? Could save you a decent amount of money.
 
I'd re-spec.. yes you would have a beast of a machine, but I could spec a system saving you over £500 and I doubt you'll notice a difference in performance.
Unless you have so much money that £500+ isn't going to make a dent in your wallet, then by all means go for it!
 
But the i7 fits with in my budget, so it would be rude not too :-)

Marginal performance is still a performance increase, and I want the best I can get with my £2000 inc vat budget.

@ Razor-BladE

I'd be interested to see what you would spec if u have the time to do so?
(taking into account I'm after near silence, a nice clean & tidy, colour coded build with a lot of power)

Thanks
 
do you prefer any colours?

i could probably do one with a lot of grey and black in it :)

EDIT** heres a black/grey theme

YOUR BASKET
2 x MSI GeForce GTX 570 OC Twin FrozR III Power Edition 1280MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £259.99 (£519.98)
1 x Intel Core i7-2600K 3.40GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £247.99
1 x Asrock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £169.98
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 128GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive £139.99
1 x Corsair Obsidian 650D Gaming Midi Tower - Black £124.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-00599) £79.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H80 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366/LGA2011/AM2/AM3) £79.99
1 x Antec TruePower New Modular 750W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £77.99
1 x Samsung SH-B123L/RSBP 12x BluRay ROM DVDRW DL & RAM Lightscribe SATA-II Optical Drive - Black (Retail) £59.99
1 x Samsung SpinPoint F4 EcoGreen 2TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD204UI) £57.98
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £39.98
2 x Akasa AK-FN058 Apache Black Super Silent 120mm Fan - 4 Pin PWM £14.99 (£29.98)
Total : £1,646.54 (includes shipping : £14.75).

 
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are you going for the fractal for its looks or because of its silencing qualities only?
i ask because in the case section theres been a huge number of complaints about fractal design's build quality. so, if you want a similar looking case with sound insulation i;d recommend one of these:
coolermaster silencio

however, if its a silent case thats great for air cooling that you want then i;d recommend one of these instead:
silverstone fortress 2
its probably the best and quietest case for air cooling your going to get, and theres more than enough room in your budget for it. as you can see below.

last question is, do you really need windows 7 professional, or could you get away with home premium. generally home premium is plenty for most people
windows 7 version comparison
just in case you really do need win7pro ive included it in the build, but it can easily be changed out

YOUR BASKET
2 x MSI GeForce GTX 570 OC Twin FrozR III Power Edition 1280MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £259.99 (£519.98)
1 x Silverstone Fortress 2 FT02B-W Windowed Gaming Case - Black £219.98
1 x Asrock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £169.98
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £159.98
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Bundle - Professional 64 Bit £99.60
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache - OEM (ST31000524AS) £44.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H80 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366/LGA2011/AM2/AM3) £79.99
1 x LG BH10LS30 10x BluRay-RW / 16 x DVD±RW Drive - Black (Retail) £78.98
1 x Antec TruePower New Modular 750W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £77.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £39.98
Total : £1,511.69 (includes shipping : £16.85).

i tried to keep everything colour coded, hence me putting the bequiet in the case instead of my usual recommendation of the thermalright silver arrow.

if you went for the coolermaster silencio you'd be limited to a watercooler like the H80, the gelid tranquillo and the Zalman CNPS9900MAX blu LED if you wanted a good cooler and a black/blue theme
 
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Total inc Vat : £1,926.36

/envy

Top post is good, should look into a different case imo
and searching for a win7 copy (save some money)
 
YOUR BASKET
1 x Gainward GeForce GTX 580 "GOOD Edition" 1536MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £359.99
1 x Silverstone Fortress 2 FT02B-W Windowed Gaming Case - Black £219.98
1 x OCZ Vertex 3 120GB 2.5" SATA-3 Solid State Hard Drive (VTX3-25SAT3-120G) £194.99
1 x Asrock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £169.98
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £159.98
1 x Antec High Current Pro 850W Modular '80 Plus Gold' Power Supply £144.98
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Bundle - Home Premium 64 Bit £68.40
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache - OEM (ST31000524AS) £44.99
1 x Antec Kúhler H2O 620 CPU Watercooler (Socket Intel LGA 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / AMD AM2 / AM3 / AM2+ / AM3+) £49.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £39.98
Total : £1,473.49 (includes shipping : £16.85).

 
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YOUR BASKET
1 x Silverstone Fortress 2 FT02B-W Windowed Gaming Case - Black £219.98
2 x Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 6950 "Dual Fan Edition" 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE DIRT3 & Deus Ex Games £209.99 (£419.98)
1 x OCZ Vertex 3 120GB 2.5" SATA-3 Solid State Hard Drive (VTX3-25SAT3-120G) £194.99
1 x Asrock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £169.98
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £159.98
1 x Lepa B-Series 850W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply £94.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Bundle - Home Premium 64 Bit £68.40
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache - OEM (ST31000524AS) £44.99
1 x Antec Kúhler H2O 620 CPU Watercooler (Socket Intel LGA 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / AMD AM2 / AM3 / AM2+ / AM3+) £49.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £39.98
Total : £1,483.49 (includes shipping : £16.85).

 
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olivier renault said:
There you go. Colour-matched.


YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus GeForce GTX 580 Matrix 1536MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £389.99
1 x Silverstone Fortress 2 FT02B-W Windowed Gaming Case - Black £219.98
1 x OCZ Vertex 3 120GB 2.5" SATA-3 Solid State Hard Drive (VTX3-25SAT3-120G) £194.99
1 x Asrock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £169.98
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £159.98
1 x Antec High Current Pro 850W Modular '80 Plus Gold' Power Supply £144.98
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Bundle - Home Premium 64 Bit £68.40
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache - OEM (ST31000524AS) £44.99
1 x Antec Kúhler H2O 620 CPU Watercooler (Socket Intel LGA 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / AMD AM2 / AM3 / AM2+ / AM3+) £49.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £39.98
Total : £1,503.49 (includes shipping : £16.85).



The Asus is a 3-slot card though. Not ideal on the silverstone :) I'd stick with the Gainward.
Click to expand...

yes true, a second 3-card slot will mean that the OP wont have any PCIe slots for soundcards/wireless cards/tv cards.
and the top GPU will run quite hot as they wont have any air gaps between them.
 
Krony said:
With the £500 u are saving u could opt for watercooling too :)
Click to expand...

I have not much clue for watercooling, but you'll need a reference design GPU, and a big case (Corsair Obsidian 800, HAFX).


YOUR BASKET
1 x OcUK V12 Watercooled Case - Corsair 800D £399.98
1 x Intel Bracket Fitted £0.00
1 x OcUK GeForce GTX 580 1536MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £374.99
1 x OCZ Vertex 3 120GB 2.5" SATA-3 Solid State Hard Drive (VTX3-25SAT3-120G) £194.99
1 x Asrock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £169.98
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £159.98
1 x OCZ ZX Series 1250W '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £149.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Bundle - Home Premium 64 Bit £68.40
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache - OEM (ST31000524AS) £44.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £39.98
Total : £1,618.28 (includes shipping : £12.50).



Plus something for the GPU as well. Dunno if the EK bundle is any good.

Could be a fun experiment. Then slap on another GTX580 in the loop :)
 
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