Finally Placed the Order...

Tute · 13 Apr 2010 at 21:42

Intel is fine - it's not going to set your bum on fire with regards to overclocking, especially as there's no CPU voltage adjustment. But it's rock solid stable.

It's not the first DFI board i've had that's just decided to go with death either. I won't be buying another.

Tute · 9 Nov 2010 at 18:47

UPDATE!

I decided to stick with the Intel board, and I also dropped an HD5850 into the case a few months back to give it a graphics boost.

Well, here's a small update before Sandy Bridge and the Intel X25 G3 drives in Q1 2011.

Code:

ZOTAC GeForce GTX 460 AMP 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with Prince of Persia & HAWX2 PC-Games £153.18 1 £153.18 
G.Skill RipJaw 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Dual Channel Kit £119.14 1 £119.14 
Corsair Hydro H70 High-Performance CPU WaterCooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1156/LGA1366/AM2/AM3) £71.48 1 £71.48

I really wanted to get either an H5O or an H7O in there. I've run the sums, checked them and checked them again and it all *seems* to fit. Zotac claim this card is 8.25" long! :eek:

VERY impressive given the power it seems to have, close to HD6870 performance?

If it doesn't fit, I have the DSR to help me out. But as said, I ran the sums, and it all seems to.

Will post up pictures of the build when the stuff arrives.

booyaka · 10 Nov 2010 at 10:55

nice - look forward to it!

Tute · 10 Nov 2010 at 16:52

Typical that the Corsair 8GB kit is now on offer for £20 cheaper, but it's all been dispatched so I guess i'm sticking with it now.

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 11 Nov 2010 at 01:09

The XFX HD6850 1GB would have been a better choice TBH as it has a shorter PCB than most HD6850 1GB cards and also has much lower power consumption than a GTX460 1GB. The HD6850 1GB also when overclocked will have lower power consumption than even a GTX460 1GB at stock clockspeeds:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4002/amd-radeon-hd-6850-overclocking-roundup-asus-xfx-msi/7

Also the HD5850 1GB is a faster card than a GTX460 1GB at stock clockspeeds.

Tute · 11 Nov 2010 at 01:21

It is, but the HD5850 won't fit with the H7O. I went for the GTX460. It's a core picked to run at those speeds, and does it out of the box with no faffing. As of yet, there's no proof that HD6850s will hit the same speeds. With this option, there's no risk to me.

Tute · 11 Nov 2010 at 22:45

Well, it's working (sort of). There were quite a few issues during build, let me finish up and i'll do a write up about it.

[Edit] Windows install has decided to nuke itself, so there won't be any updates tonight. Gotta love how Windows still retains that trait, 20 odd years after it's inception! :rolleyes:

Tute · 12 Nov 2010 at 16:20

Right, after a bit of a fight i'm back in the game, albeit with some major deviations from the pre-arranged ideas.

Okay, my day started with a good example of excellent customer service. I wasn't in to collect the parcel, so DPD sadly took it back to their depot. I went onto the website to book a collection to be met with some news: I couldn't collect that day.
Undeterred, I phoned them and asked if I could pick it up that evening. The lady on the phone was fantastic and said I could go and get it that evening.

So, one trip later...

And out everything came...

Then... disaster. I'd run the sums, but Zotac weren't entirely truthful about the length of their card...

More to come soon...

danewesley · 12 Nov 2010 at 19:06

i love it, its like a real cliff hanger.

Tute · 16 Nov 2010 at 18:39

Okay, so after much deliberation, I decided to try the EVGA GTX460 1GB *** card. Higher clocks, and EVGA state that it's 209mm on their site. Surely they can't be wrong either...?

Had to go elsewhere for this one as OcUK don't stock it. Placed the order, took the Zotac out and packed it up ready to send back.

Parcel arrives today. I open it.

I'm sorry, what the **** does it say on the box? I'm at my absolute wits end with this. Zotac can't measure something as simple as a graphics card, and it seems a retailer can't even read a ******* box!!!

Back it's going to have to go again. More time wasted. I'm tempted to jack in the whole sodding build. :mad:

Tute · 16 Nov 2010 at 19:07

Now i'm very confused. I try the card and I get this:

Have they managed to ship a 1GB card in a 768MB box?

booyaka · 16 Nov 2010 at 23:46

strange one - check the serial number on the evga website and see what that brings up?

Guardsmon · 18 Nov 2010 at 15:21

lol loving it.. I feel for you Tute.

Gotta say eVGA's support for me was wonderful with my lovely 680i back when... give them a shout and I'm sure they'll help you if they had been dumb enough to put it in the wrong box (Doubt you'd really care enough to get the correct box shipped to you though).